Our Staff

  • Ricky Simpson

    senior Pastor

    Ricky began serving as the Senior Pastor at The Church on the Hill in August 2026. He

    is a native of Kentucky and has over twenty-four years of experience serving on church

    staffs in Kentucky and Maryland, including more than a decade as a Senior Pastor.


    Ricky has a Master of Divinity Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

    in Louisville, KY and a Bachelor’s Degree in Christian Studies from Campbellsville

    University in Campbellsville, KY.


    Since 2008 Ricky has been married to his beautiful wife and partner in ministry Michelle, who holds a Master of Counseling Degree from Xavier University. They have been blessed with four wonderful children: Isaac, Emma, Josiah, and Micah. In their spare time they enjoy both watching and playing sports and rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Bengals and being their children’s biggest fans in all their various activities.


    Ricky’s passion is to make Christ known to the nations and to help people understand

    the wonderful truths of God’s Word and apply it to their lives so they can glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

  • Jacob Hall

    Worship Leader/student Pastor

    Jacob Hall joined The Church On The Hill staff in the summer of 2024. He is from Central Alabama and has been in ministry for a number of years. Jacob had a calling to ministry when He was finishing high school in 2017 and has been going where the Lord has led ever since.


    He has a Bachelors Degree in Christian Studies with a focus in ministry from Mississippi College. The desire to lead worship and speak into young adults and students grew in his time on campus. After graduating, Jacob began traveling with Life Action Ministries in 2021, as an acoustic guitarist and vocalist for two years and in his third and final year became the Worship Leader for His team.


    Jacob desires to see people know Jesus for who He is and give Him all the glory and praise. He wants people to worship God on and off the stage and be able to see students fully be sold out for the Lord wherever he may lead them to go.


    EMAIL Jacob

  • Katie Sheffield

    Children's ministery Leader

    Katie Sheffield is our Children’s Minister at TCOTH.  She is an Army Brat who has lived all over the United States starting in the Pacific Northwest and slowly working her way East and South with stops in Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Miami.  She has a degree in Music Education from FSU with a focus on Instrumental Education.  She can play almost any instrument (to varying degrees) but says that the strange ones are the best.  She has taught music to all grade levels, from band to middle and high school students, and General Music to elementary students.  Elementary students are where her heart lies and has spent the last five years of her teaching career with these students.  


    Her calling became more specific after reading the book “Mama Bear Apologetics” by Hillary Morgan Ferrer.  It showed her just how much our children are exposed to and how early.  As such, her passion has become to equip children and their parents with the tools to defend their faith and question the societal norms that are forced on them.  


    Katie and her husband, Cory, were married in The Church on the Hill in 2018.  Both being self-confessed nerds, they enjoy computer games, movies and theological or historical conversations.  Cory is a Polk County native and serves the church anywhere his IT knowledge is useful.  Both have been saved from a young age and see the value in equipping our children with sound doctrine.  Neither is a fan of the beach, but in the trees with a hammock is where they are the most relaxed.  


    Email Katie

  • Nathan soto

    tcoth En español Probationary Pastor


    Stay tuned for more information about Nathan

  • Lorene zieske



    Administrative assistant

    Lorene joined the TCOTH staff as administrative assistant in 2025. She spent her childhood and teen years in California, which is where she met her husband, Jimmy, while he was stationed at Beale Air Force base. They were married in 2000. They moved to Idaho in 2013 and Florida in 2021. She has been serving the Lord in many ways over the years including being a church secretary, teachers assistant in a Christian school, school cook, preschool teacher in another Christian school, children's ministry director, volunteer coordinator, and as an assistant at a pregnancy resource center. In 2018, Lorene started college and earned her bachelor's degree in business management in 2020, and her master's in management and leadership in 2021. She has 2 children, 1 son-in-law, and 1 grandchild. She enjoys crafting, spending time at the Disney parks, and hanging out with her family.

    EMAIL Lorene 

  • NANCY CRAWFORD

    ACCOUNTING MANAGER

    Nancy has served as the TCOTH's Accounting Manager since 2020 but has been working as a church bookkeeper since 2006. Originally from Pennsylvania, Nancy's family moved to Polk County in 1977 and she has lived here ever since. She has an Associate of Science degree in Accounting as well as her Associate of Arts in Computer Information Sciences. She has a deep love for Jesus and her attention to detail and love for the Church drives her to help us fulfill God's mission with excellence and the utmost financial integrity.


    Nancy has been a member of TCOTH since 2004 and she was baptized here in 2005. She and her husband, John, have been married since 1990. They have three daughters and one son, along with six grandchildren.


    EMAIL NANCY