Hillcrest Community Church Leadership
Hillcrest is blessed to have a leadership team who are truly dedicated to Christ and accomplishing His will. Following are brief bio's of our leadership team and their qualifications for ministry.
Monty Walton
Senior Pastor
Monty Walton grew up in South Knoxville and worked as an attorney for 25 years before answering a late-in-life call to vocational ministry. His faith journey has been diverse – including extended time in the Baptist and Presbyterian churches before joining the Methodist church where he answered God’s call to ministry. He served as the first Senior Pastor at Hillcrest when the church was formed in 2023.
Pastor Monty is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary. His teaching is grounded firmly in scripture and influenced by Wesleyan theology. As preacher, he works to offer a worship experience that is both casual and meaningful with the primary emphasis on proclaiming scripture faithfully every week. As teacher, he is open to hard questions as he invites us to recognize the mystery of God and to explore how we are called to follow Christ in an increasingly secular world. As church leader, Pastor Monty’s passion is encouraging and enabling everyone at Hillcrest to glorify Christ in missions of compassion both locally and around the globe.
Pastor Monty and Elizabeth have been married for 25 years and love to travel. They have four children and five grandchildren. He loves everything Big Orange which you will figure out pretty quickly if you join us for worship.
Alec Ross
Youth Ministry Director
Alec Ross is a South Knoxville native and has worked as the youth ministry director at Hillcrest since 2014. He has a passion for youth and also serves as a Career & College Ministry Coach at the Emerald Youth Foundation. Alec is dedicated to fostering a meaningful relationship with each young adult that attends Hillcrest, creating ties between the church and the local community, and works tirelessly to continuously improve our youth program.
Alec and his wife Hannah live in south Knoxville with their daughter Oakley.
Catherine Greco
Director of Childrens Ministry
Rin Greco graduated From University of Georgia with a BS in English education and is currently enrolled in University of Tennessee School of Law. She has a passion for teaching children and is very excited to be a part of the Hillcrest family!
Tracy Garrison
Secretary
Tracy is a South Knoxville native and has spent her entire life at Hillcrest. She enjoys being the church secretary and getting to spread the good news to others! She also serves as church pianist.
Tracy lives in Knoxville with her husband Justin & their 3 kids, Lincoln, Penny, & Walker.