Our Team

Andrew Singh

Senior Pastor

Pastor Andrew Singh and his wife, Arpita, both grew up in India. At the age of 16, he attended his senior year of high school in Kansas.   After that, he attended  Southwestern College in Kansas followed by Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, KY. 

Pastor Andrew and Arpita were married at Wesley Meadows UMC in Hodgenville, KY, which was his appointment in KY.  Before rejoining Georgetown 1st UMC as our Senior Pastor, he served in Hodgenville, Georgetown 1st as an Associate Pastor, and  Erlanger UMC as a Senior Pastor. God brought Pastor Andrew and Arpita back to Georgetown 1st in June 2023 to serve as our Senior Pastor.

In 2022, after 11 years of marriage, God blessed Pastor Andrew and Arpita with their precious daughter Ellie, Eliana Aaradhana Singh. She has been such a blessing in their lives and they are immensely grateful to God for her.

Pastor Mignelis Figueroa Lazcano

Associate Pastor

Pastor Mignelis Figueroa Lazcano is a native of Puerto Rico, a US territory, and is the oldest daughter of pastor parents.  She moved to northern Kentucky in December 2002 when her father was called to ministry as a church planter for the Kentucky Annual Conference of UMC.   

In 2009, Pastor Mignelis moved to Lexington, KY to serve and help grow the young church Fuente de Avivamiento.  Called to pastor herself, she became a licensed pastor in 2014 and served as a local pastor.  In 2019, when the Bluegrass District of the Kentucky Annual Conference of UMC called her to serve as a church planter for the Hispanic communities of the District, she started a new movement called “Cuerdas de Amor”(Love Strings).   Cuerdas de Amor holds worship services at Wesley UMC in Georgetown, KY and, with its new outreach strategy, The Mobile Church T.G.I.F. , within different neighborhoods in Georgetown.  Cuerdas de Amor strives to be a faith-based, loving, serving community for those who are looking to belong, focusing predominantly on Hispanic 2nd and 3rd generation adults, children and youth.

Pastor Mignelis married Miguel Lazcano in September 2009.  They have 2 beautiful children: Mireily Joyce and Miguel Jeremiah.  They reside in Georgetown and are excited to be part of the Georgetown 1st UMC family.

Paige Willhite

Director of the Preschool/Kindergarten programs

Paige Willhite serves as Director of the Preschool program at Georgetown First.

Paige is a Georgetown native, and was born and raised in Georgetown First United Methodist Church.  She and her husband, Chris, have three sons who all attended the preschool when they were younger.

Paige taught 3-year-old and 4-year-old classes from 2009 until July 2018, when she became the Director of the Preschool programs.  She is passionate about early childhood development and helping our youngest children learn skills to help them be successful as they begin their education. She feels it is truly a joy seeing our children grow, both physically and spiritually.

Kristina Skibo

Children’s Minister

Kristina Skibo serves as Children’s Minister for Georgetown First United Methodist Church. 

Trista James

Youth Coordinator

Trista James serves as Youth Coordinator for Georgetown First United Methodist Church. 

Trista is married to Calvin James, and they have two sons Jayden (17) and Jaxton (15). Trista is a Pre-K teacher at Georgetown First. She loves working with children and the youth. She wants to help them grow spiritually and have a successful future. She enjoys spending time with her family.

Dr. Rachel Taylor 

Pianist, organist, and accompanist

Dr. Rachel Taylor serves as the pianist, organist, and accompanist at Georgetown First United Methodist Church.   In addition to being on staff at GFUMC, Rachel is an adjunct professor of piano at Eastern Kentucky University, is the Director of the Foster Academy for Musical Excellence (F.A.M.E.) at EKU, and teaches private piano lessons in her home in Georgetown.  She has previously taught at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Department, Grinnell College, Coe College, Cornell College, and the Preucil School of Music. Dr. Taylor was selected as the 2019 Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Music Teachers Association.

Rachel lives in Georgetown with her husband, Mark Cleland, and their son, Taylor Crist Cleland.

Rachel enjoys traveling with her family, taking walks and interacting with her students.

Kelli Evans

Music Director

Kelli Evans is a native of Bradfordsville in Marion County, Kentucky. Her earliest memory is of singing “Amazing Grace” for her preschool class and she has participated in preparing and delivering worship for several years.

Kelli received a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Campbellsville University in 2018 and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting in 2020. She began her public school teaching career in the fall of 2020 and continued until this spring when she felt a different calling on her life. Now, in addition to her work at First United Methodist Church of Georgetown, Kelli is attending the University of Kentucky in pursuit of a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance. 

Denise Pitts

Administrative Assistant

Denise Pitts is the administrative assistant at Georgetown First.  She enjoys getting to know more church members, and helping staff so that they can better serve the congregation.

Denise was born and raised in Cunningham, a small town in far western Kentucky and graduated from Murray State University.  She and her husband, David, moved to Georgetown in 1997, with their two boys: JB and Will. She is a CPA and retired from the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2017.

Denise enjoys reading and traveling, but her favorite place is home.

Denise’s favorite Bible verse is from Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through him  who strengthens me.” (ISV)

Shannon Shepherd

Receptionist

Shannon Shepherd is the receptionist at Georgetown First.

Shannon and her husband share four wonderful children together: Jackson (19), James (17), and Lexie and Riley (both 13).

Shannon enjoys getting to know more church members, and hopefully being a blessing to others as well.

Howard Miles

Business Manager

Howard Miles is the business manager at Georgetown First.

In his free time, Howard enjoys spending time with his wife, Teresa, and their granddaughter, Layna.  Howard also enjoys being outside as much as possible.

Howard loves serving our Lord, and helping His people.  He truly brings this passion to his work at Georgetown First, and in his interactions with others.

Nathan Bacon

Facilities Team Member

Nathan Bacon is a Facilities Team Member. He joined the team in 2023.

Eva Kelly

Facilities Team Member

Eva Kelly is a Facilities Team Member. She joined the team in 2024.