Rev. Adam Sparks
Senior Pastor
asparks@stmumc.org
Adam Sparks is a native of Salyersville in Eastern Kentucky. He and his wife of 12 years, Melanie, met at the Wesley Foundation at Morehead State University, where they both graduated. Adam has a B.S. in Psychology from Morehead State (2005) and an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary (2009). Melanie is the Community Relations Manager at Dominion Senior Living of Louisville and a former choir director at Bullitt Central High School. Adam and Melanie have two sons, Noah and John, and two Labrador retrievers. Adam has served congregations at Bethel/Mt. Pleasant, Owingsville, Sunshine in South Shore, and College Heights in Elizabethtown. He enjoys cycling, hiking, cooking, University of Kentucky basketball, listening to NPR, and going on adventures as a family
Rev. Renee Jennings
Associate Pastor
rjennings@stmumc.org
Renee grew up in Louisville, graduated from Seneca High School, Indiana University Southeast, and Louisville Seminary. Prior to coming to SMUMC as our River City Pastor, she served as Associate Pastor at Highland United Methodist Church in Ft. Thomas, and most recently as the campus minister at Northern Kentucky University. Along with husband, Patrick, their family includes birds, snakes and of course, bunnies! Renee enjoys knitting, crochet, cross stitch, and quilting - as well as baking. She professes to be wildly competitive at Mario Kart and almost all board games, and she and Patrick are fluent in Star Wars, Star Trek, and Marvel; plus she speaks Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter!
Rev. Maikel Rojas
Assistant Pastor
mrojas@stmumc.org
Maikel has been a part of the St. Matthews UMC community since September 2016, when his current church plant, Tabernaculo de Avivamiento, began meeting here on Sunday evenings. Maikel, his wife Lily, and sons Jonathan and Jordan came to us from Cuba. Maikel graduated from the University of Ciego de Avila in Cuba and began his pastoral career in 2004. For six years he served as senior pastor and established three new churches in nearby cities. In 2010 Maikel and his family moved to Florida, where he worked as an assistant pastor before moving to Kentucky in 2012. Here he worked as a Hispanic Church Planter for the Kentucky Annual Conference, launching four churches that are in a process of wonderful growth and multiplication. In addition to overseeing St. Matthews' TDA service, Maikel is the Senior Pastor of Buechel United Methodist Church.
Harrison Zoercher
Director of Discipleship & Missions
hzoercher@stmumc.org
Harrison began his ministry at St. Matthews as organist in 1996. Following a lengthy career in the telecommunications industry, he became Communications Coordinator for the Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2002, and the Director of Communications and Emerging Ministries for SMUMC in 2004. Harrison has served on the United Methodist General Conference and Southeast Jurisdicational Conference Communications Teams, Kentucky Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the Executive Committee of the Louisville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Board of Directors of Loucon Training & Retreat Center, Wesley House, the Louisville Chrysalis Community, and St. Matthews Area Ministries.
Shannon Seidt
Director of Children's Ministries
sseidt@stmumc.org
Shannon is a lifelong Louisvillian. She received her Bachelor’s from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, where she triple-majored in Religion, French and Philosophy. She received her MBA at Bellarmine University and has done additional postgraduate work at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Bellarmine. Throughout her life, Shannon has felt God’s call into ordained ministry, and has followed God’s leading into inner-city, prison, and youth and children’s ministries. Now at St. Matthews, God has led her to serve the children of the church and community and their families. She and her husband, Chris, have two wonderful children, Mason and Caleigh. On the side, Shannon loves clowning, foreign language study, singing, and spending time with the family in the great outdoors.
Aaron Weaver
Director of Music Ministries
Aaron Weaver received his Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Kentucky, as well as his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. He taught as a high school choir director in Jefferson County Public Schools (Waggener and Pleasure Ridge Park High Schools) for 12 years, and is currently the Explore Program Administrator at Crosby Middle School. Aaron has extensive church music experience, having served a number of church communities in various musical and leadership capacities. For the past nine years Aaron has served as a member of the music ministry team at St. Matthews United Methodist Church, directing the youth choir and the youth handbell ensembles.
Aaron and his wife, Meghan, are the parents of three children, Keely, Keegan, and Kipton.
Sandy Hottell
Administrator & Financial Secretary
shottell@stmumc.org
Sandra Hottell (Sandy) joined the staff of SMUMC in December 2020. Sandy has 30 years of accounting experience in a variety of different industries, and also serves at Board Treasurer/Bookkeeper for Brandon’s House Counseling Center in New Albany, Indiana. A lifelong Indiana resident, Sandy currently lives in Jeffersonville. In her spare time, Sandy enjoys reading biographies and true crime books. She is a U of L Cardinals fan and loves the Green Bay Packers.
Frank Krause
Sexton
As a member of the St. Matthews staff since 2000, Frank oversees the care and maintenance of the church’s physical plant and campus. His generous, cheerful spirit and his professionalism reflect his great care for the diverse congregation he serves. And he makes a terrific catfish dinner!
Victor Moreno
Music Associate, River City and TDA
​
Victor Moreno became Music Associate of our River City and TDA services on Easter Sunday, 2025. He is a native of Mexico and has lived in the USA since 2007. In addition to his work at our church, he runs a cleaning service in Louisville. He also enjoys music and spicy food. He and his wife, Ana, have two children.
Amber Jenkins
Youth Minister
ajenkins@stmumc.org​
​
Amber Jenkins has been Youth Minister at St. Matthews since 2018. She is a Louisville native and grew up in St. Matthews UMC. She is so happy to share her love of God with the youth. Amber is currently in school for a bachelor's degree in Business Administration: Human Resource Management. During her free time, she likes to craft, read, spend time with family, and most important, be with her pets!
​Allyson McCormick
Nursery Director
As director of our beautiful nursery, Allyson McCormick provides a smiling face and welcoming presence to children on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and during various other special events. Allyson is a graduate of Seneca High School and the University of Louisville. She has two children, Luke and Zoe.
​