Staff

Steve Evans, Pastor

Steve, and his wife Carla, came to Fincastle Church in July 2016 as a member of the UMC Holston Conference. He has served on a full time basis for the last 20 years in Fincastle, Strawberry Plains (Trentville UMC), South Knoxville (Beulah UMC) and 2 years bi-vocational at Dutch Valley UMC in Anderson County.

Steve was born in Anderson County. He enjoyed playing baseball, fishing with his grandparents and presently enjoys playing golf. He attended Clinton Elementary and junior high and graduated from Clinton High School. Steve started his career in his family business, Evans Contracting Inc. in Clinton, until 1998 when he accepted the call of Ministry at Valley View UMC.

Steve attended Duke Divinity School from 2000-2005 and received his Certificate of Ministry from the United Methodist Church. Steve, and his wife Carla, together love the lord and love working with people. Steve and Carla have 5 children and 5 grandchildren. They have been blessed to serve and work together.

They continue to look forward to serving the people of Fincastle and Campbell County.

Send Pastor Steve an email

Kayla Hopper, Worship Leader & Choir Director

Kayla came to Fincastle Church in June 2018. Prior to coming to Fincastle, Kayla has taught the Primary Sunday School class and led worship in her childhood church, Butterfly Gap Baptist Church (2007-2015) in Maryville, TN and led worship at Pilgrim Baptist Church (2016-2018), also in Maryville, TN.

Kayla was born in Blount County. She attended and graduated from Heritage High School in Maryville, TN. During her time at Heritage, she developed a passion for singing and music through being a member of the Heritage Singers. With this group, she had the privilege to perform in choral competitions within and outside the state of Tennessee. Upon graduating from Heritage High School, she attended Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN on an academic and choir scholarship to pursue her degree in Elementary Education. She met her college sweetheart in the education program, and they were married in June 2018. Kayla is currently teaching 2nd grade at Ellen Myers Primary School in Harrogate, TN and is pursuing her Educational Specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University.

Bobby Russell - Lay Leader

Bobby grew up in Campbell County and began attending Fincastle Church in 2013. Prior to joining Fincastle Church he was a member of Fundamental Missionary Baptist Church of LaFollette.

Bobby attended Campbell County Comprehensive High School and graduated in 2005. He then went on to attend East Tennessee State University to obtain his B.A. in Accounting with a minor in finance, which he completed in 2009. In 2013, he met his wife Megan, who is a life long member of Fincastle Church. They were married in June of 2015 and now have two children Silas and Evelyn.
Bobby is a dedicated member of the Fincastle Church family and enjoys being a leader in his local church congregation. Outside of Fincastle Church, he enjoys sharing Jesus with others through the Gideons International ministry of which he has been a part of for nearly 10 years.

Stephanie Lloyd Hester, Director of Discipleship

Stephanie began attending Fincastle Church in December 2019 and immediately loved the caring atmosphere of the Fincastle church family. In July 2022, she began serving as Director of Discipleship. Stephanie grew up in Oneida, TN, where she and her family were members of First UMC of Oneida. After graduating from Oneida High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education from Asbury University in Wilmore, KY.

In 2019, Stephanie moved to Campbell County to work as an intern at Galilee Bible Camp, where she has served for many years as a summer staff and program director. Through her work at the camp and her studies in the education field, Stephanie developed a passion for teaching and discipleship. The combination of these two passions has drawn her to seek out creative opportunities for vocational ministry. From 2019 to 2022, Stephanie worked at the Campbell County Christian Learning Center where she taught daily released-time Bible courses to high school students. Stephanie is excited to serve at Fincastle to facilitate discipleship opportunities within our congregation and develop spiritual outreach at the Jellico Ministry Center.

Committees and Committee Members

Committees & Committee Members