Russellville First
United Methodist Church
Pastors & Staff
Meet Our Pastors
Rev. Dr. Tony Griffin
SENIOR PASTOR
Pastor Tony is thankful to be called to pastor in The United Methodist Church. It is his heart’s passion to help shape people into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Tony was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas and has served in ministry in Arkansas, Georgia, the United Kingdom, and Oklahoma. He holds degrees from Southern Nazarene University, University of Arkansas, Little Rock - William H. Bowen School of Law, Emory University, and Duke University. He is an inactive lawyer and Certified Public Accountant.
Tony enjoys reading, hiking, snow skiing, and time on the lake – almost anything outside with his family and friends!
He has been married to Tracy for almost 30 years and they have three children, Addison, Will, and Lainey. They also have two chihuahuas, Ethyl and Olive, and Labrador retriever mix, named John Wesley Griffin (he goes by Wesley!).
It is his joy to serve as your senior pastor!
Rev. Lauren DeLano
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Pastor Lauren grew up in Fayetteville, AR, and her family has been answering the call to ministry. Her parents live in Wisconsin where her dad currently serves as a pastor at a local United Methodist Church. Her brother and sister-in-law (Matt and Amber) live in Texas with their two children. Her brother Matt is a Church of Christ Pastor. Pastor Lauren is married to Jacob Grosskopf, Geology Professor at Arkansas Tech University, so she already has ties to Russellville.
After graduating from Fayetteville High School, she earned her Bachelors of Art in Psychology from Hendrix College before receiving her Masters of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in 2016. Pastor Lauren is currently serving as a jurisdictional alternate serving on the ARUMC delegation, a participant in Advancing Pastoral Leadership - a leadership program for young clergy across our jurisdiction, and she also serves as the Chair of the Conference Council of Young Adults.
She loves to travel and explore new places: she and two of her clergy friends are on a mission to visit all 75 counties in Arkansas, having already been to 44 of them. Some other hobbies of hers include listening to podcasts, reading psychological thrillers, watching and playing sports--especially cheering on the Hogs.
Rev. Cindy Bright
PASTOR TO FAMILIES
Pastor Cindy is blessed to be living out her calling as a United Methodist Deacon at Russellville First United Methodist Church. Her goal is to embody the servant ministry of a Deacon and to walk with youth and their families as they deepen their connections between God, church and their day to day lives.
Cindy was born in Little Rock, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina until her family returned to Arkansas when she was a junior in high school. She graduated from Sheridan High School, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cindy has served churches in the Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky Annual Conferences.
Cindy enjoys reading, baking, biking, walking and enjoying nature. She can often be found humming or singing – sometimes without even realizing she’s doing it. She loves a good (or really bad!) pun, and Seinfeld trivia and dialogue takes up an inordinate amount of space in her brain!
Cindy has been married to Jeff for over 30 years, and they have two daughters, Sarah and Rachel. They are grateful God has called them back to live and serve in Jeff’s hometown and home church in Russellville.
Meet Our Staff
Page Phillips
DIRECTOR OF
CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Page grew up in Alma, Arkansas, and graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in History Education. She met her husband Jeff while attending TECH and they have been married for over 30 years. They have three children: Jacob, Molly Grace, and Harper.
Page taught High School Social Studies at Lincoln and Dardanelle and 5th grade at St. John’s Catholic School. She then served as a substitute teacher for the last 9 years, mostly in elementary schools.
The Phillipses have been members of Russellville First for over 20 years. Page has helped in all areas of Children’s Ministry and was so excited to put her love of children and Jesus into practice by helping children and families grow in their faith. This July will mark her first year serving as the Director of Children’s and Family’s Ministries at Russellville First.
She truly Believes God’s call on her life is to help children know Jesus and she is so thankful to have the opportunity to do this every day.
Christi Burris
DIRECTOR OF
YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Christi is thankful to be a part of the spiritual journey for the children in church. She loves teaching children about the love Jesus has for them.
Christi was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She’s a 2000 graduate of Dover High school. She has been a member of the Russellville First for the past 7 years and on staff for 3.
Christi enjoys spending time with family, traveling, reading, crocheting and watching her children do their various sports.
She has been married to Travis for 20 years and they have six children: Keagen, Payten, Alysen, Carson, Owen, and William.
Brooke Shamblen
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Brooke and her husband of 18 years moved to Arkansas 10 years ago this past summer from Charleston, South Carolina. They live in Russellville with our three amazing boys, ages 16, 13, and 5. They Shamblen family stays busy and very active with soccer and various involvement within the community. Brooke is the true definition of a “Boy Mom,” and she loves every minute of being the Queen of her castle!
You may have seen her around in the halls of TLC as a junior preschool teacher and in the Nursery with the littles. She loves being a part of a child’s learning and exploring new experiences with them in addition to enriching their hearts with The Word.
Brooke looks forward to getting to know all of you more and is thankful for this opportunity to be more involved with our church.
Emily Westcott
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Emily lives in London with her husband of 10 years, Eric, and their two amazing children Ella and Trace. They spend their free time camping, hiking, and enjoying time outside in our beautiful state or reading an enjoyable book. Emily has been a preschool teacher for several years, 3 of those working in the Honeybee room at TLC. She also has been in the church nursery with the littles. She is blessed and extremely excited to be given the opportunity to serve FUMC in a new position with an older age group and to get to know you all more!
Megan Grace
TLC DIRECTOR
&
CHILDCARE COORDINATOR
Megan joined Russellville First United Methodist Church with her family in 1988 and has since been baptized and confirmed in the church. She began working in the nursery in 1999 and became Director of Childcare in 2017. She also began working at TLC in 2007 and became the Assistant Director in 2016. Her passion is, and always has been, with children.
Megan is married to her high school boyfriend, Ryan, and together they have two children; a son, Weston, and a daughter, Kasyn. She enjoys spending time with her extended family, camping, fishing, hunting, and being outdoors. Her favorite past time is watching her children compete in various sports.
Valerie Roys
TLC ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Valerie joined the TLC Family in 1984, when she enrolled her children in The Little Church Program at Russellville First Methodist Church. In 2002, she began teaching in the infant room and 6 years later moved into the TLC Director position.
Valerie was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, and spent her childhood moving about as her father was in the Navy. Russellville became her home when she entered the eighth grade. She married her high school sweetheart, Mark Roys, and had 3 daughters, Melissa Burton, Amy Ford and Megan Grace. The family joined the church in 1988.
She’s into antiques and loves the “hunt” for the next little treasure. Her pets include 2 dogs, 2 cats and a brood of chickens. She enjoys cooking, especially preparing meals for frequent family gatherings. Her favorite pastime is spending time with her 7 grandchildren, Devin, Alyvia, Kaylee, Weston, Kasyn, Lila, and Bo.
Garrett Snavely
CHANCEL CHOIR DIRECTOR
Garrett is excited and optimistic to serve as Chancel Choir Director. He has a degree in keyboard/vocal music education from Arkansas Tech University, where he graduated in December of 2020.
Garrett started singing as a choral intern at FUMC in 2017. From there, his love of high-church worship has only grown. Along with his involvement in music ministry in the Methodist tradition, he remains active as a substitute organist and pianist for local churches, as well as serving as an assistant organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Russellville.
Garrett lives in Dardanelle and teaches private music lessons to local students and at River Valley Music Center, where he has worked since July of 2021.
Brian Faulkner
PRAISE BAND LEADER
Chris Becnel
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Chris Becnel has been working with youth ministry since he was a teen. He grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas, and served as a junior high youth minister in Conway, Arkansas, while working on his bachelor’s at the University of Central Arkansas. He received his master’s in educational leadership from Arkansas State University.
When Chris graduated from college, he worked as a drug prevention specialist in Union County, Arkansas, where he traveled internationally working with governments and schools to expand their prevention programs. He taught junior high and high school in south Arkansas for 10 years before moving to Russellville. He is a certified French & business teacher and licensed real estate agent.
Chris enjoys traveling, camping, making music, and spending time with his family and friends. He’s visited 31 states and 23 countries. He and his husband Brad have two children, Harrison and Sophie.
David Condley
FACILITY MANAGER
Terri Kulbeth
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Terri Kulbeth has been blessed in being part of the staff at Russellville First for over 25 years. It is her desire to represent Jesus Christ to all she comes in contact with. Terri was born and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In the places she has called home over the years, throughout Texas and Arkansas, she has always been an active member of the Church. While her son was in the Pottsville school system, Terri held several positions in the Pottsville PTO she also enjoyed volunteering at the school. Terri enjoys biking, hiking, cooking, walks along the beach, and meeting new people. She is grateful for time spent with friends and the memories made along this shared journey of life.
Terri has a son Kurtis, daughter-in-law Hanna, and granddog Murph. She enjoys spending time with them and cherishes the memories they make together.
Becky Worley
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT