STAFF
MINISTERIAL STAFF
GANNON SIMS
Senior Pastor; Lead Missionary
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Gannon felt God's call to serve as Cliff Temple’s pastor and lead missionary in 2022 because he fell in love with the people and the rich history of innovative ministry here. He’s a church planter and a founding director of Fresh Expressions North America, a movement seeking to help take the church Jesus loves closer to the people Jesus loves. He’s the author of Bringing Church Home and has a deep passion for showing how our homes and family life are primary places for discipleship, evangelism and mission. A graduate of Baylor University and Duke Divinity School, he’s married to Carey, a leadership coach and spiritual director, who also is a graduate of Duke Divinity School. They’re residents of Oak Cliff where they’re having fun exploring the rich diversity of the neighborhood.
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Kenny Cheshier
Associate Pastor
Minister of Youth, Senior Adults, and Hospitality
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Kenny joined the staff of Cliff Temple in 1999. He is married to Stephenie, and they have two wonderful children, Kennedy and Madison. Kenny graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. His passion is to see teenagers and senior adults come to a living faith in Jesus that results in them making more disciples for Him. Kenny also enjoys films, American history, politics, and sports.
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Michelle Collins
Minister for Children and Families
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Michelle Collins was formerly the Minister to Children at Cliff Temple (2003 - 2012) and rejoined our staff in 2020. All the while, she has been Director of our children’s choir, The Celebration Singers.
She and her husband Rob have been members since 2002 and have two grown children, Kaden and Robert. -
Emilie Flaherty
Associate Minister for Children and Families
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Emilie joined Cliff Temple staff in 2023. She and her husband, Matthew, have been members of the church since 2022. Emilie is passionate about advocating for and building relationship with children. Her background in Early Childhood Development and Elementary Education prepared her for her current role of helping children and families grow and develop their own relationships with Jesus. Emilie has two sons, Leighton and Knox, who attend the Cliff Temple CDC. She is an avid reader and loves bug hunting with her boys and conversations with friends over a cup of coffee.
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Dan Griffin
Pastor Emeritus
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Dan is from Frederick, Oklahoma. He has a BA (English) from OBU and a M.Div. and D.Min. from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. He and Marilyn have been married since 1961. They have three adult children, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Dan was Cliff Temple’s pastor from 1979 to 1989. His last church was First Baptist, Lancaster, TX. The Griffins live in north Arlington. Dan was an adjunct professor of Bible at Dallas Baptist University for 15 years. He continues his pastoral duties as needed and teaches the Global Affairs SS class at CTBC.
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Trevor Jamieson
Minister for Adult Discipleship, Spiritual Formation, and Young Adults
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Trevor joined the staff of Cliff Temple in 2018. His goal is for people to know God, to love their neighbors, and to make Jesus known through justice and culture care. Trevor holds a dual Bachelor of Arts in Philosophical Theology and Bible (Moody Bible Institute), a Master of Arts in Theology (Fuller Theological Seminary), and a Master of Philosophy (University of Dallas). He is married to Siera Jamieson and they have two daughters: Elaine “Elly” Marlo and Abigail Leanne.
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Tom Tillman
Minister for Music and Worship
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Tom has led the music and worship at Cliff Temple since January of 2021. He is the Director of Music & Worship for Texas Baptists (Baptist General Convention of Texas). Originally from New Mexico, Tom has enjoyed being in Texas for almost 40 years. He has a Bachelor of Music in Church Music from Wayland Baptist University and a Master of Arts from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A pianist and organist, Tom has several choral anthems published with Word Music and Shawnee Press. He is married to Marcia, and they have two grown daughters and one granddaughter.
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Marlon Ríos
Mission Oak Cliff Director
Minister for Missions and Spanish Language Ministries
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Marlon Ríos is a US Army Veteran, having served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. After his military service, he taught public school in San Juan, Texas. This experience fueled his calling to help the underserved. Through the encouragement of leaders at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, Marlon discerned a call to ministry and enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary. While at DTS, he worked with the Hispanic Education Initiative at the Baptist General Convention of Texas, where he led education advocacy programs in churches across Texas. After his time at DTS, Marlon was accepted into the Ph.D. program in Leadership Studies at Dallas Baptist University. He is an adjunct professor at DBU, teaching Old and New Testament studies. Marlon is married to Carolina, and they have three children: Josué, Joel, and Rebekah. They have two dogs, Estrella and Daisy. Marlon loves The Office, The Big Bang Theory, and soccer.
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Lauren Vandillon
Child Development Center Director
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Lauren came to Cliff Temple from a career in multi retail store operations and human resources. She enrolled her daughter Ava as an infant in our Child Development Center and started attending Sunday morning worship. In 2013, Lauren volunteered to help streamline the CDC's operations and that eventually landed her the job of Assistant Director. When the previous director retired in 2017, she was promoted to Director and hasn't looked back. The CDC consistently receives high marks from the Texas Workforce Commission and the parents who entrust their preschoolers into our care. An Alabama native, Lauren enjoys spending time with her family, fishing, boating, grilling, DIY projects, and long drives in the country.
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Amy Britton
Director of Development
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Amy is an Oak Cliff native with more than 20 years of experience advancing education and nonprofit organizations to maximize their missional impact. Through her work in transformational philanthropy, she helps donors develop a deeper understanding of faith and their relationship with God.
Amy became a member of Cliff Temple Baptist Church in 2015. She is a devoted mother to her three sons, Zack, AJ, and Josh. Amy holds a Doctor of Education in Learning and Organizational Change (EdD) from Baylor University and a Master of Arts (MA) in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). -
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Susan Shanks
Ministry Coordinator
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Susan has been on the Cliff Temple staff since 1982. She is married to David and has two married sons and six grandchildren. In addition to church activities, Susan enjoys watching baseball (especially the Texas Rangers), doing needlework, reading, playing with dogs, and any activity that takes place outside.
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Talye Gwinn
Ministry Assistant
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Talye was born in Ecuador and has enjoyed serving the Lord since a very young age. In 2014, she came to Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas to major in Worship. While there, she met and married her husband, Christian. They have two wonderful sons, and they enjoy going on trips around the world together.
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Barbara Evetts
Church Administrator
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Barbara worked in public accounting before transitioning to church administration and joining Cliff Temple’s staff in 2009. She and her husband Greg live in Oak Cliff and have two adult children, Erin and Scott. Barbara enjoys photography, Aggie sports, and weekend trips back to the family farm.
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