JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (Nov. 24, 2014) -- Leaders of the Kingsport and Johnson City Districts yesterday voted 173 to 5 in favor of taking steps to relocate Buffalo Mountain Camp to a Kingsport location.
The Nov. 23 vote will authorize camp leaders to list Buffalo Mountain Camp for sale, purchase the Sullivan Baptist Association property on Bays Mountain, and begin a capital campaign to establish a camp ministry on that site, according to the Rev. Randy Pasqua, executive director of Holston Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries.
"The vision to move is very compelling and seems to give the greatest opportunity for successful ministry," Pasqua said.
The decision follows two years of investigation and study after an August 2012 flood forced the closing of the camp in Jonesborough, Tenn.
District leaders met in separate called charge conferences at Gray United Methodist Church and Crossroads United Methodist Church.
The vote involves 80 acres on Hood Road in Kingsport. Photos are available on the Buffalo Mountain Camp website as well as Facebook.
Erdman will depart
Pasqua also said that John Erdman, director at Camp Wesley Woods, has announced that he will depart at the end of 2014. Erdman has accepted a position at Living River, a Presbyterian camp in Montevallo, Ala.
Erdman has served as Wesley Woods' leader since November 2010.
A search for new leadership at the camp will begin soon, Pasqua said. Wesley Woods is located near Townsend, Tenn.