Staff

Pastor Grell has been part of The Springs since August, 2019.  Zach received a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Biblical Studies from the University of Northwestern St. Paul and his Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.  He and his wife Kristy have three children.  Zach is our primary teaching pastor and provides leadership to staff and ministries.

Tom has served as the Pastor of Congregational Life for The Springs since 2000. Prior to joining the staff, he was a Pastor of Evangelism and Discipleship at the Evangelical Free Church in Columbia, Missouri. Tom and his wife of over twenty-five years, Patti, have two adult children, Hannah and Ben.

Lawson Albey became our Family Pastor in 2015. He oversees birth through college ministry and leads our Family Ministry team here at The Springs.  Lawson attended the University of Arkansas where he met his wife, Shay. Prior to coming to The Springs, he served as the Administration/Children’s pastor at Pathway Baptist Church in Fayetteville, AR.

Emily Melnik became our Early Childhood Supervisor in 2018. Before that she served as Early Childhood Assistant. She currently coordinates the children’s ministry from birth to pre-K. She has a B.S. degree from Missouri State University, where she met her husband, John. They have two kids, Jonah and Clara.

Jill Nickel became our Elementary Supervisor in 2018 and coordinates the children’s ministry from K-5th grade.  She has her MSW degree from Saint Louis University and worked previously for CoxHealth where she met her husband, Jeff. They have two children, Katie and Caleb.

Treva Swadley came on staff in September of 2011 as our bookkeeper.  She has a B.S. in Computer Science from College of the Ozarks and worked in the computer field until their first child was born.  Treva has been a bookkeeper for non-profit organizations since 2002. She and her husband Gary have been married 30 years and have 4 children.