KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Jan. 27, 2015) – A director has been chosen to lead the transition of Buffalo Mountain Camp ministries to a new location on Bays Mountain near Kingsport.
Holston Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries (HCCRM) announced the selection of the Rev. Jeff Wadley to oversee development of a new United Methodist camp to follow in the footsteps of 66-year-old Buffalo Mountain Camp in Jonesborough, Tenn. “The vision is to develop a broad regional ministry that continues the strong faith development mission and history of Buffalo Mountain Camp,” said the Rev. Randy Pasqua, HCCRM executive director.
Wadley, age 50, has served as pastor of Sycamore Tree United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tenn., since he started the congregation in 2001. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary (1990) and a Master of Education degree with emphasis in outdoor education from Southern Adventist University (2014).
Buffalo Mountain Camp hosted as many as 600 campers annually – a majority of them children – until an August 2012 flood caused irreparable damage to the beloved grounds and buildings. After two years of investigation and study, United Methodist leaders voted in November 2014 to list Buffalo Mountain Camp for sale, purchase 80 acres on Bays Mountain, and begin a capital campaign to establish a camp ministry on the former Sullivan Baptist Association property, Pasqua said.
In addition to leading the growth of Sycamore Tree church from zero to 166 members, Wadley has served as a staff and board member at Camp Wesley Woods in Townsend, Tenn., and board member and volunteer at Camp Lookout in Rising Fawn, Ga. He currently serves as finance chair for the HCCRM board.
“I am honored to have been chosen to lead this new ministry,” Wadley said. “I’m full of energy and ready to bring my experience from the new church start and my experience of camp and retreat ministry to the new camp.”
Wadley is married to Joy, a teacher, and has two sons and a daughter.
See Jan. 27 Kingsport Times News story
See Jan. 27 Johnson City Press story
See Jan. 28 TriCities.com story