Pastor Ed Murrey-Morning Services

Edward Murrey is a pastor who has been serving in local churches in Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia for the past thirty years. His current appointment is as a full time local pastor at Epworth United Methodist Church near Blue Ridge, Tennessee. In addition to sharing the message of God’s love, Edward loves sports, travel reading and taking walks outdoors. And being a good Methodist, his favorite meal always involves fried chicken! Pastor Murrey is grateful for the joyous privilege of fellowship with Pine Log UMC this summer and growing in Christ together as we learn to “ be a light in the darkness.”

Homecoming Preacher- Zack Townsend

Zack was the Pastor of Pine Log UMC for 8 years. He was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2024. As an Extension Minister, he is the owner and licensed clinical social worker at Rise Wellness in Calhoun, GA. 

Britt Martin-Speaker for Youth Service

Pastor Jim Elder-Evening Services

Jim Elder has been serving in the ministry for over forty-six years - as a pastor, a conference youth director, a youth pastor. He was ordained Elder and pastored in the Free Methodist Church and Evangelical Methodist Church. Hook a break for a while, received his Masters of Counseling and Education from Middle Tennessee State University and worked in education and counseling while remaining active in local churches teaching youth, adults, and couples. In 2004, he began serving in the United Methodist Church, beginning in North Alabama, then South Carolina, and the last nine years in North Georgia. He adores his wife of 25 years, Heather, who he blames for talking him into returning to pastoral ministry. They share three children and are crazy about their five grandchildren.

For nearly 200 years people have been coming from all over to join together in praise and worship at Pine Log Camp Meeting. Before there were church buildings on every street, early settlers would gather their crops after the harvest and, out of spiritual necessity, they would head to camp meeting. Families would set up tents and a circuit rider would come on horseback to teach and preach the gospel. The preacher would be cared for by the hospitality of those attending, before departing for the next ministry destination.

While the traditional circuit rider is no longer a necessity, preachers still travel from afar to share the gospel here at Pine Log. Although contemporary times present an abundance of options with regard to how people encounter God, Camp Meeting continues to be a thriving and vital form of worship. This age-old tradition is not an empty ritual, but serves as a powerful and transcendent opportunity to connect with the God of all creation on a deeper level. 

In his journal, Francis Asbury frequently writes about attending and preaching at camp meetings. In a letter to a Methodist preacher dated December 2, 1802, Francis Asbury writes, "I wish you would also hold campmeetings; they have never been tried without success. To collect such a number of God's people together to pray, and the ministers to preach, and the longer they stay, generally, the better." He then concludes with a reference to Matthew 4:19, "This is fishing with a large net" (p. 477).