Our Church Staff:

Pastor

Rev. Bruce Nettleton

Bruce Nettleton was appointed to First United Methodist Church in June of  2011. Bruce is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Architecture and Asbury Theological Seminary. He began preaching in the Methodist Church in 1989, and is committed to sound Biblical teaching and fostering healthy ministries in the church.

Adult Ministries / Thrive Pastor

Jamie Jordan

Jamie Jordan is the pastor of the Thrive Sunday-evening service at Richmond First United Methodist Church as well as the adult-ministries coordinator. Jamie joined the staff in 2007 as the youth pastor after volunteering for a number of years with the youth ministry. He moved into his current role in June 2016. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, and is married with three children. He bleeds UK Wildcat blue and when not in the office, you’ll find him in a kayak or on the side of a mountain.

Youth and Children’s Ministry Coordinator

Amanda Bonner

Amanda grew up in Alabama before moving to Kentucky in 2007 to attend Asbury Theological Seminary, completing a Masters of Arts in Youth Ministry in 2010. Before she started serving as the Children’s Coordinator at Richmond First UMC in 2021, Amanda served, along with her husband, over a decade in the Christian camping industry, including UMC Camp Tekoa in Hendersonville, NC, and Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center in Ravenna, KY. Amanda and her husband are also licensed foster parents through the State of Kentucky, and in 2021 adopted their first son. She loves seeing children grow, flourish, and know that they are loved, adored, and welcomed by the Creator of the universe. Don’t be too surprised if she greets you with a “War Eagle” or starts talking college football as she is very passionate about the Auburn Tigers. When she has the opportunity, Amanda enjoys traveling and capturing the beauty of the world through lens of her camera.

Office Manager

Lori Chasse

Lori Chasse is the office manager at Richmond First United Methodist Church. She has a bachelor’s degree in Christian education and has also served previously as the MMC coordinator at Richmond FUMC. She enjoys office work, organizing things and administrative tasks — combined with her love of serving people, this helps her ask God to see everyone who comes through the office through His eyes. She has been married for more than 30 years to her husband, George, and they have two adult sons, David and Jonathan.

Community Liaison

Kathleen Hufstetler

Kathleen Hufstetler joined the FUMC staff in June of 2019 after volunteering in the office since January 2017. She serves as our Community Liaison. Some of her endeavors have been to launch ministry to our local jail, and getting community members into long term shelters or rehabs as needed. She also started a food bank delivery program in which the church picks up and delivers food bank food from God’s Outreach to people in Richmond who have need of food but do not have transportation to get it themselves. None of these programs could run without the help of the volunteers from our church, for whom she is very  grateful. She attended Lexington Theological Seminary and has a B.A. in Christian Ministry as well as a Pastoral Studies emphasis from Bushnell University (formerly Northwest Christian University) in Eugene Oregon.

Music Ministries Coordinator

John Stegner

John Stegner hails from New Carlisle, Ohio. His Bachelors and Masters degrees are from Eastern Kentucky University, in Richmond, accompanied by a year at Wichita State University. He also holds a Rank I certificate in Education, from the University of Kentucky and has participated in numerous, other educational pursuits, including performing with Maestro, Robert Shaw, at the Westminster Choir College for three consecutive summers.

As a music educator for over 40 years in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, his choirs were featured at the Kentucky Music Educators Association In-Service Conferences, the American Choral Directors Association Conferences; they performed throughout Central and Eastern US, and were selected as “Best in Class” at several National and International Choral Festivals.

After retirement, John taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Kentucky. He currently teaches at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, where he initiated the choral music program, and at the University of the Cumberlands, in Williamsburg, where he teaches choral methods and voice.

His music ministry at the First United Methodist Church, in Richmond, is preceded by similar stints throughout his years in Kentucky, which include the First Baptist Church, in Mt. Sterling, the First Christian Church, in Mt. Sterling, Centenary United Methodist Church, in Lexington, Broadway Christian Church, in Lexington, and First Christian Church, in Richmond.

Mr. Stegner enjoys hobbies, such as photography, riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, boating on Lake Cumberland, and flying a powered parachute.

THRIVE Praise Team Leader

Kayla Clevenger

Kayla Clevenger has been serving as the Thrive Praise and Worship Director since May 2019. Kayla has attended Richmond FUMC since September 1995 and has served as a youth counselor with the Emerge youth group, and as a member of the Thrive worship team since 2014. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in English teaching and obtained a master’s degree in Instructional Leadership in 2020. She lives in Richmond and loves reading, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.