Our Staff

Mark Vowell is a lifelong Methodist, and a third-generation Methodist Pastor. A Navy brat, Mark was born on Guam, baptized by his grandfather in Archer City, Texas, and raised in the congregation at First Methodist of Gainesville, Texas. He attended the University of Oklahoma on a Navy ROTC Scholarship. Mark spent 10 years on active duty as a Naval Flight Officer and Mission Commander of a crew of 12 aboard P-3C Orion aircraft, tracking Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Following active duty, Mark continued to serve in the Naval Reserves and retired as a Commander in 2001.

In January of 1989, Mark answered a call from God to full-time Christian ministry by taking shore duty orders to Dallas as the Enlisted Programs Officer for Navy Recruiting in North Texas and beginning studies at Perkins School of Theology (SMU). Mark resigned his active duty Navy commission in 1992 to serve as the Director of Youth Ministries at Tyler Street Methodist in Oak Cliff. Mark received his Masters of Divinity in 1996 and was appointed as associate pastor at Tyler Street.

Mark has served as senior pastor at Westview Greenville, First Whitewright, Ridgewood Park in Dallas and Spring Valley in Dallas. He was appointed as senior pastor at First Frisco in July of 2013. Mark’s grandfather was also pastor at First Frisco from 1954 to 1957. In January 2023, First Frisco became one of the first congregations in the Dallas metroplex to join the Global Methodist Church. Mark has served in a variety of leadership positions, including, Chair of the Church Revitalization Task Force, Executive Committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry, Board of Directors of the SMU Wesley Foundation, Chair of the Metro District Trustees, and North Central District Committee on Building and Location.

Mark served on the Transitional Leadership Team which planned the launch of the MidTexas Conference of the Global Methodist Church. He continues to serve on the MidTexas Executive Board, and Chairs the Episcopacy Committee.

Mark is married to Shannon. Shannon writes, teaches, and leads First Frisco’s orphan ministry, Forever Families. The Vowells live in Frisco, where they enjoy being active in their daughters’ schools and in their neighborhood. They cherish time with their adult kids and grandsons in Arizona, Washington, and South Texas.

Mark's passions include preaching, relational evangelism, helping folks get grounded in scripture, and helping congregations tackle once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Mark serves on Kairos prison ministry teams twice annually. Believing that the church really is God's primary plan for reaching the world with the love of Jesus Christ, Mark loves to be part of connecting churches with God’s dreams for them. Mark points out, “God’s dreams are always bigger than our dreams, and they are always wonderful!”

Tracey is a “Cradle Methodist,” and has served the church in many capacities over the years in various “lay“ roles as well as Youth Director and Director of Discipleship before hearing the call to ministry.  Tracey and her husband, Jim, have two college-age children, Kelsey and Gavin.

She is very much a “born and raised Texan.”  Tracey was Valedictorian of her High School in Diboll, Texas and graduated Cum Laude from Texas A&M University with a degree in Speech Communication and Business Management, entering the workforce as a Communications and Marketing Manager in the corporate world.  Then along came two beautiful children to raise.

Pastor Tracey assumes responsibility for the areas of Discipleship, Sunday School, Children and Youth Ministries, Women’s Ministry, Missions, Communication, Prayer and Evangelism.

Steve is a second-generation Methodist pastor in the North Texas Conference and has been an ordained member since 1985.  He has a history of effective ministry in a variety of ministry settings; and has 14 cumulative years of experience as Executive Associate at University Park in Dallas and St. Andrew in Plano.

Steve and Connie have been married since 1986.  They both have parents in the area, two grown children (Jacob and Erin) and four grandsons (Luke, Ben, Caleb and Blake).

Steve's strengths in ministry lie in teaching, administration and caring for God's people.  He enjoys all sports, particularly golf and basketball.  Steve and Connie have a log cabin in Creede, Colorado, where they hope to retire.

Andy is a native North Texan. Born in Garland, he moved to Frisco in 1995. He and his parents, Dave and Kathy, attended a neighboring church in Plano, TX during his time in school where he served on many mission trips and youth choir tours. During his time in youth Andy’s spiritual journey truly began. He credits his youth minister, Mark Bridges, with helping him learn to be open to God’s plans. Andy is hopeful God will use his passion for youth, missions, and growing new spiritual leaders to impact the youth of First Frisco in the same way his youth experience has shaped his life and spiritual growth.

Andy was an active member in his youth group until his graduation from The Colony High School in 2003. After a brief stint as an Emergency Medical Technician, Andy enlisted in the US Navy as a Chinese Linguist. He served four years providing tactical linguistic support to overseas missions, and a final two years as Senior Military Analyst of his mission before his Honorable Discharge in 2012.

An Eagle Scout, Andy remains active in Scouting serving as Charter Organization Representative for First Frisco GMC. He has also served as Aquatics Director, teaching and training lifeguards, and now Program Director for Worth Ranch, a week-long Scouts BSA summer camp in Palo Pinto, Texas. It was in reconnecting with that program he discovered his passion for teaching and mentoring young people. Andy has served as a Life Group Leader and youth ministries volunteer with First Frisco for four years.

He has two youth of his own, Asher (16), a proud member of the Lebanon Trail High School Trailblazer Marching Band, and Ella (12), an aspiring actress and oboist at Clark Middle School. Their family has been attending First Frisco since 2015.

Emily Harris and her husband Darren have been members of First Frisco since 2009 and have lived in Frisco since 2005.  They have 2 children: Dayne and Elizabeth (Ellie).  Emily grew up in Granbury TX and received her degree in English Literature from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX.   Emily grew up involved in Church and attended and worked as a counselor at Christian based summer camps during college. Emily felt compelled to follow the lord’s calling toward a career in Children’s Ministry. She feels blessed that she can serve the youngest members of our congregation and fill them with the love of Jesus.

Jenny Eden and her family have been attending First Frisco since moving to Frisco in 2015 from Ohio. She and her husband, Matt, have two children, Madelyn and Hudson, who keep them busy with competitive cheer and baseball. Jenny has been involved in children's ministry in some form throughout a span of over 20 years. She has taught Sunday school, been an assistant youth leader (including a mission trip), curriculum coordinator and now assistant children's director. Jenny earned her degree in Elementary Education (1-8) with an ESL (English as Second Language) endorsement. She taught 7t/8th grade ESL students for 7 years in Columbus, Ohio before becoming a stay home mom for 12 years. In 2021, she began working again, this time at Friend’s In Christ Preschool teaching 1 year old children. She’s excited to see God’s work in the children’s ministry.

Brad is the grandson to 2 senior pastors, a nephew to another, and the son of a music minister and doctorate. Thus, he was extremely blessed to be surrounded by a solid foundation of faith, love, Christian examples, and a exceptionally wide-range of music his entire life. Brad's parents signed him up for music theory lessons at the age of four. This was the birth of a life-long love of music study, appreciation, creation, and performance spanning across all genres. His early music education was traditional, starting with formal training in piano, vocal performance and French Horn while serving in youth music ministries at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church. As long as he can remember, music was everywhere and all the time.

Brad started dating his future wife Shannon when he was 17, although they met when they were 12, as they were both in their respective high school show choirs. While at Lakeview Centennial HS, Brad was not only the first student in the school's history to make All-State Choir, he was also the first to play in band, choir, football, and track. As fate would have it, Brad ended up following Shannon to college, changing his football scholarship commitment from the University of Arkansas to the University of Texas. 25+ years later, they have two boys, Nathan (who somehow ended up going to A&M - "WHOOP!") and Jordan ("WHEW!", UTD).

Brad's immersion into the wondrous world of Contemporary Christian Music began with a conversation in a park with a member of a newly formed praise band at Suncreek UMC in Allen. His volunteering to help out with piano and vocals quickly turned into music charting, followed closely by song selections and planning sessions with the pastoral staff. After a year, Brad was added to the staff as Worship Team Director where he helped to grow this ministry for over 15 years. Thankfully, this was a ministry that Shannon and Brad could experience together, as she also sang lead vocals with the Worship Team. During this time, the CONNECTION contemporary service was the fastest growing and most well-attended service at Suncreek.

Native Texan, Debi Morton, started her career in music at the age of 11, debuting as organist for a Methodist congregation. That career has taken her to all kinds of interesting places, from Baylor University (for a degree in piano performance) to Disney World, NYC, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Working as an organist-choirmaster, accompanist, and music director, Debi (with musician-husband David) moved back to Texas to raise their two daughters—Megan and Bethany. Debi eventually took a job as staff accompanist with McAllen ISD, where she served for 26 years – simultaneously serving as music director for Trinity Baptist Church. Since moving to McKinney more recently, Debi still enjoys accompanying, composing, and directing the Adult & Kids Choir here at First Frisco. Debi delights in the company of her 2 grandsons, Jonah and James. (Two more grandsons, Kaiden and Maddox, live in Houston.)

Debi identifies Psalm 33:3 as a favorite verse: ‘Sing unto Him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise!’ She says, “God is indeed worthy of my best. I pray I never stop learning new songs and skills to offer back to Him in worship.”

Bio Coming Soon

Frank has handled various duties in our AV Booth for years. Most recently, Frank has worked with our AV Contractor to identify the necessary AV equipment and system upgrades that we need to provide better online ministry. Frank has proven himself as a team player and diligent problem-solver, and his warmth and sense of humor make him a blessing to all the folks with whom he works.

Frank and his wife, Dottie, are both First Frisco members; they raised their sons (now adults) at First Frisco and Dottie volunteers in the nursery and in the Chancel Choir. Both the DePaolos are educators in Melissa ISD. We are grateful for their ministry partnership.

Martha has worked as the Financial Secretary since March 2007.  She has been a member of First Frisco since 1998 and has lived in Frisco since 1994.  She and her husband, Marc, have three children: Amanda, Zachary, and Matthew. Martha grew up in Dallas and graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelors degree in Accounting.  She is a CPA and worked in the corporate world for five years before staying home with her children.  She is excited to be back at work using her degree and helping the church.

We are excited to welcome Brett Sanders as our Facilities and Grounds Manager. Many of you will recognize Brett from the Foundations Sunday School class, the men’s Iron Works Bible Study on Fridays, and as a dedicated Kairos volunteer. With a strong background in construction project management and all aspects of restaurant operations, Brett brings a wealth of experience to this role. He and his new bride, Megan, currently reside in Princeton. We are grateful to have someone with his expertise and his passionate service in managing our church campus and its many moving parts.

Since August 2002, Lesia has served as Administrative Assistant for First Frisco. A native Arkansan, she held a similar position at Cabot United Methodist Church until moving to the North Texas area in April 2002.

Lesia is married to Tom and they have two daughters, Kristen and Katie. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, family activities, and watching HGTV.

Julie has attended First Frisco since 2002.  She and her husband, Lee, have 2 children: Sydney and Brooke.  

Julie grew up in Florida and Louisiana, but has lived in North Texas most of her adult life.  She graduated from University of Texas at Arlington with a BBA in Marketing.
Before having kids, she held a variety of marketing and sales positions.  Her most recent position was Marketing Manager at the Australian/New Zealand franchise headquarters of Mailboxes, Etc. in Sydney, Australia.

After being a stay at home mom for 12 years, she is extremely excited to join the staff at First Frisco and looks forward to serving the church.  

Trisha is a a Methodist, born and raised, and there are three things she knows to be true and unshakable: the Lord God Almighty is King and Savior; there is nothing as moving as hearing hymns played on a church organ; Methodist women are the best cooks in town!

Growing up, the women of her family never let anyone go hungry and the men congregated in the kitchen to fellowship and to wait for the delicious food to be ready.  Eating together was a time for sharing ideas and making bonds which would never be broken.  Now, she has the pleasure of being able to cook and work in the First Frisco kitchen.  She hopes that during the meals prepared in the kitchen, the family of Christ can share ideas, talk about God, and make bonds of brotherhood which won't be broken.

The First Frisco kitchen is God's kitchen and all are welcomed and fed.  She is honored that it is the place where she is called to serve the Lord.

Patti has served as the Friends IN Christ Preschool Director since 2002. She has a degree in Elementary Education from East Texas State University and taught for five years in the Texas public schools before she left teaching to stay home with her children.

Patti and her husband, Bob, have three children and have lived in Frisco for over ten years.

Patti enjoys her position at Friends IN Christ and makes it her goal to provide a safe, loving environment for children to grow in body and in spirit.