Rev. Stewart Smith, Senior Transitional Pastor
Rev. Stewart Smith began serving as our Senior Transitional Pastor on September 1, 2024.
Stewart’s ministry is grounded in the two greatest commandments; ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ He hopes everyone who walks through the doors of the church will find peace and joy in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ and that coming to church will feel like coming home.
Stewart Smith is a lifelong Presbyterian who was born as a preacher’s kid in Charlotte, NC. He moved to Arkansas while in the first grade and grew up in the Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in Forrest City. He graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX with a degree in accounting.
After several years of work with Diamond Shamrock Refining and Marketing Company he experienced a call to the ministry and attended AustinPresbyterian Theological Seminary. After graduation from seminary Stewart served as Associate Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, AR for seven years. In 2001 he accepted a call to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springdale and served there until accepting the call to become General Presbyter in October of 2015.
Stewart is married to Laura, a teacher in Rogers and they have two sons, Ryan and Alex. In his spare time, Stewart enjoys biking, jogging, golf, skiing and watching sports year-round.
Kristi Button, Director of Christian Education
Kristi Button joined the staff of FUPC as the Director of Christian Education in November 2008. Kristi has been working professionally in churches across Florida, North Carolina, and Arkansas for more than twenty-five years. Kristi earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in teaching from Trinity University, as well as an M.A. in Christian Education from Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is a Certified Christian Educator in the PC(USA) and earned a certificate in Spiritual Direction through Columbia Theological Seminary.
Kristi was raised in Fayetteville and likes being back in the community after being gone for nearly two decades. Kristi enjoys baking in community as a metaphor for spiritual formation (ask her about this), live music, playing board games, and knitting baby blankets for family and friends. She is married to Rob and the mother of two young adult sons. If you have questions about adult spiritual growth or our Children’s Ministry, Kristi is the person to ask.
Amanda McDonald, Youth and Young Adult Director
Amanda McDonald joined the staff in 2023 as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. She is a native of Northwest Arkansas. She has three children, Ella, Lindley, and Tilman. She is pursuing a Master of Divinity from University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and she plans to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament. Amanda grew up a member of First Presbyterian Church in Springdale, and she was very involved from a young age. While she was in high school, she served on the Presbytery Youth Advisory Team and as a Youth Elder at her church. She has remained active in the Presbytery and is currently serving on the Future of the Church Committee.
She is very excited about growing the youth and young adult ministry at FUPC! If you have questions about our Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Amanda is the person to ask.
Cathy Hairston, Director of First School
Cathy Hairston serves as the Director of First School. First School is a nurturing faith-based Parent’s Day Out Program, Preschool, and Kindergarten. Cathy is a native of Fayetteville and received a Bachelors Degree in Finance from the University of Arkansas. She has watched First School grow from 46 students and 6 teachers to over 120 students and a staff of 21 teachers. Cathy is married and has two sons.
Isaac Thomas, Music Minister and Commissioned Ruling Elder
Isaac Thomas joined the FUPC staff in October 2019 and is originally from Fayetteville. He has over 35 years of experience directing church choirs. Isaac was commissioned as a Ruling Elder (lay pastor) in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in July 2017 after completing his studies at Dubuque Theological Seminary. Before FUPC, he served for six years as Pastor of Music, Outreach, and Technology at Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, VA. He was officially commissioned to FUPC by the Presbytery of Arkansas on November 19, 2023.
Isaac studied music at The University of Arkansas and John Brown University, with additional training in conducting, piano, and voice at Texas Wesleyan University and the University of Texas at Arlington. He also completed a six-week piano course at Juilliard in 2017. He is excited to return to Fayetteville after 20 years and currently oversees the music ministry, plays piano for the worship services, conducts the Chancel Choir, mentors the choral interns, assists in worship planning, and regularly preaches. Isaac is raising his niece, Nicole, and they have two dogs named Miles and Elsa.
Stacey Luebker, Financial Administrator
Financial Administrator, Stacey Luebker was born in Ohio and grew up in Arkansas. She earned a B.A. from Arkansas Tech University in 1998, and moved to Northwest Arkansas, working with Lifestyles, then as Regional Director of United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas until 2010. Over the next ten years, she founded and directed Tots Landing Child Care Center in Elkins, which she sold in 2020. As an on-site Owner/Director, she managed all the finances in addition to her other responsibilities as a business owner. She and her husband Elliot have been married since 2001 and they have two sons, Logan and Lane. Her workdays are normally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Amy Rossetti, Communications Coordinator
Amy Rossetti joined the staff in the fall of 2022. She is married with two adult children, and has been a member of the church since 2000. She has been involved over the years in vacation bible school, presbyterian women, stewardship, and volunteering in the office. Amy met her husband Manuel when they were both graduate students at The Ohio State University. She has both a BS and MS degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. While her husband continued his schooling, Amy worked on various software development projects at AT&T Bell Labs for over five years. She elected to be a “stay at home” mom when her kids were young and did a lot of volunteering in the schools – helping with newsletters, yearbooks, bulletin boards and assisting in computer labs. She worked for the U of A Department of Industrial Engineering developing publicity materials for two years. Amy holds a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design and taught online as an adjunct instructor for the U of A Masters in Operations Management program for seven years. As the Communications Coordinator, Amy is responsible for the weekly email newsletter and announcements, printed newsletters and mailings, updating the website and overseeing the church social media. Her usual workdays are Tuesday through Friday.
Amy McCann, Membership Coordinator
Amy McCann has grown up in the Presbyterian Church. She moved to NWA in 2002 to attend the UofA and received a Bachelor’s in HESC with a Child Development emphasis in 2007 and holds several other certifications. After moving to NWA, she quickly became active at FUPC. She joined the staff in 2003 as Childcare Coordinator and held that position for 16 years. She also updated membership for 5 years during that time. She became an Elder at FUPC in 2019, and has always been involved with membership in some way.
She has been the Director of a childcare center in Rogers for the past 13 years, married for 14 years, and has a 12 year old chocolate lab named Nitro. She rejoined the FUPC staff as Membership Coordinator in January 2022.
Beth Benham, Office Manager
Office Manager, Beth Benham is a native of Fayetteville and a graduate of Northwest Technical Institute. Her work-life has been grounded in supporting others. She cannot imagine doing anything else.
When at home, she enjoys gardening, knitting/crochet, and being with her husband and band of merry fur-babies.
She embraces diversity and inclusion; loves conversations about food; and she hopes to someday be conversational in Spanish.
Christopher Verdery, Audio/Visual Coordinator
Xiao Yang, Choir Accompanist
Xiao Yang, our Choir Accompanist, holds a Master of Music in vocal coaching and accompanying from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Arkansas, a Graduate Certificate in piano performance from the University of Central Arkansas, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from East China Normal University.
She teaches piano at NWACC.