From a Story Parlor to a Family Life Center
First United Methodist Church of Pine Mountain sits a block off the main road through Pine Mountain, Georgia, in Harris County, where its campus spreads across the sanctuary, a Christian Education Center, and a Family Life Center connected by hallways and an elevator. The congregation's motto, "Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully, Lead Courageously," shows up on the front of the church's online home, and the building's layout shows the same impulse at work: a sanctuary on top, classrooms below, and a fellowship hall behind.
The church dates to September 1882, when twenty people met in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Story for what was then Chipley Methodist Episcopal Church South. The first building was finished in early spring 1883 and stood until October 1920, when a new sanctuary took its place; that building was paid off in 1927. In 1939, when three Methodist conferences came together, the congregation became Chipley Methodist Church. The town itself changed its name to Pine Mountain in 1958, though the church kept the older name until 1968, when the merger that created The United Methodist Church gave it the name it carries today: First United Methodist Church of Pine Mountain.
The campus has grown in waves. The Family Life Center went up in 1991, providing the fellowship hall that anchors Wednesday night suppers and youth activities. The Annex was attached to the Parsonage in 1999 to become the church offices, recognizable by the United Methodist Cross and Flame out front. The Christian Education Center, completed in the fall of 2004, added classrooms for Sunday School, a nursery, and children's church, with an elevator that links the floors.
Sunday in the Sanctuary
Sunday worship at Pine Mountain FUMC comes in two shapes. The 8:30 a.m. service is a casual traditional gathering in the sanctuary that usually runs about forty-five minutes, with coffee and breakfast treats afterward. The 11:00 a.m. service is an hour-long traditional service with choral music, a children's message, and Children's Church for the older kids during the sermon. The 11:00 service is also livestreamed, so members who are traveling or homebound can follow along.
Between and around those services, Sunday School fills the morning. Adults meet at 9:45 in the Christian Education Building; children and youth meet at 10:00 in the Family Life Center. Children's Church during the 11:00 service frees parents to focus on the sermon while younger children have their own teaching downstairs.
Seasonal services round out the year. Pine Mountain FUMC observes a Christmas Eve Candlelight service, an Easter Sunrise service, a Good Friday service, a Maundy Thursday Communion service, an Ash Wednesday service, and occasional evening hymn sings.
Noah's Ark and the Children's Ministry
Children are at the center of the church's week. The nursery, in room 026 of the Christian Education Center, is open during Sunday School and both worship services for children three and under. Children's Church, for older kids, meets during the 11:00 service in room 015. Sunday School runs from 9:45 to 10:45.
Wednesday evenings add another layer with Bible Adventures, which runs from 6:15 to 7:30 and includes nursery care for children five and under. The program runs in parallel with the Wednesday Night Supper and the Bible study that follow in the Family Life Center, so families can eat, study, and have their children in programming all under one roof.
Noah's Ark Child Enrichment Center is the church's half-day preschool, serving children from six months to five years across seven classrooms. Classes meet Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., with an 8:00 early drop-off option for an extra fee, and the school year runs alongside Harris County Schools. Director Mary King Kurrass, who also leads the broader Children's Ministry, oversees the program. Registration is $150 ($100 for church members), with monthly tuition that runs from $160 for a two-day week to $270 for four days, a ten percent sibling discount, and a summer camp option.
Youth Ministry on Sunday and Wednesday Nights
The youth ministry for sixth through twelfth graders is described by the church as one of its most active programs. Students gather three times a week: Sunday Morning Gatherings from 10:00 to 10:45, Wednesday Night activities from 6:15 to 7:30 after the church supper, and Sunday evening Youth Group from 5:30 to 7:30. Mission trips, senior high retreats, middle school outings, and other events fill out the calendar.
Youth Director Laura Willoughby came into ministry after volunteering with her sons' group and previously served as Director of Children's Ministry at Trinity UMC before narrowing her focus to youth. She and her husband Don are Harris County natives who met at Hardaway High School and have deep roots in the Columbus area.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
From September through May, Wednesday evenings are the church's midweek gathering point. Supper is served at 5:30 in the Family Life Center, with a menu that changes week to week (pizza, salad, and dessert on a typical week). Pricing runs $7 for adults, $4 for youth ages 11 to 17, $2 for children ages 6 to 10, free for children five and under, and $25 as the family maximum. First-time guests eat free.
The supper doubles as a fundraiser for Noah's Ark Preschool. Reservations can be made by signing the flap of the Sunday bulletin, calling the office, or using the online form. A standing reservation can be cancelled by contacting the church office before noon on Tuesday.
At 6:30, a Bible study gathers in the Family Life Center. The church invites newcomers to join this group at any point during the season.
United Women in Faith
United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) is a long-standing women's ministry at Pine Mountain FUMC. Meetings rotate between a noon to 1:00 p.m. format in odd-numbered months and a 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. format in even-numbered months, with no July meeting. The unit's stated purpose is to connect and nurture women through Christian spiritual formation, leadership development, creative fellowship, and education so that they can inspire, influence, and impact local and global communities.
The 2026 officers include Susan Walter as president, Nancy Williams as secretary and communications, Sally Cobb as treasurer, and Frankie Mabry leading the card ministry. The group takes on projects through the year: Valentine bags for homebound members, supplies for the Harris County Hope Center, gift bags for Noah's Ark teachers, canned goods for Pocket Change Ministry in Pine Mountain, and the dedication of the Louise Aldrich Memorial Garden at the back entrance of the Family Life Center. A summer social each June at a member's home is open to anyone who would like to come.
Senior Adults: Young at Heart
The Senior Adult Ministry, nicknamed Young At Heart, plans regular day trips for the older members of the congregation. Recent outings have included a Delta Museum trip, a matinee of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," an Olive Garden dinner, a Jersey Boys show, a Kia plant tour in West Point, and a December visit to Dakota's in Pine Mountain. Deaconess Becky Gaar, the Minister of Missions and Senior Adults, organizes the trips and welcomes anyone who would like to join.
Pastor's Pantry and Missions
Pastor's Pantry, the church's food ministry, was started during the pastorate of the Rev. Martha Dye, when a group of parishioners saw a need for supplemental groceries in the community. The pantry now operates as a 501(c)(3) that purchases food through Feeding the Valley and distributes canned and packaged staples, meat, and, when available, fresh produce and bread. In the colder months, blankets, coats, hats, and gloves are added to what is offered. Volunteers staff the pantry Monday through Thursday from 9:00 to 12:30; a mobile delivery route brings groceries to four homebound clients on the second Monday of each month. In 2022, the pantry served 360 families, a total of 778 individuals.
Members can support the pantry and other missions through online giving, and the church keeps a Sew Blessed group busy making items for ministry use.
Music Ministry
Music has long been a thread through the church's life. Director of Music Ministries Rose holds a Bachelor of Science in organ performance from East Tennessee State University and a Master of Music from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and has served Protestant and Catholic churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. She and her husband David live near Ellerslie in Harris County. The 11:00 a.m. service is known for its lively choral music, and the church observes an evening hymn sing as part of its seasonal rotation.
What to Expect on a First Visit
First-time guests are welcomed at every level. Visitor parking sits right in front of the sanctuary, and the side portico allows for easy drop-off and access to the ground floor of the Christian Education Center. Handicap parking and a ramp lead into the sanctuary, and the elevator in the CEC reaches the sanctuary level and the adult Sunday School classrooms. Restrooms are just out the back of the sanctuary, up the stairs or elevator and around to the left.
Street parking is available on all sides of the church, and the bank across the street, closed on Sundays, opens its lot to visitors as well. The nursery is in room 026 in the basement, and Children's Church pickup is in room 015. Two worship styles let visitors choose: a casual forty-five-minute service at 8:30, or a fuller hour-long service at 11:00 with choir and children's church.
Leadership and Vision
The Reverend Andy Cunningham, an Elder in Full Connection with the United Methodist Church, has served as pastor since graduating from Gammon Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in 2013 and being ordained in 2019. He completed the Royce and Jane Reynolds Program in Church Leadership and serves on the District Strategic Planning Committee for the Southwest District of the North Georgia Conference.
The church's lay leadership includes Dale Morrison as Council Chair, Rusti Houston as Lay Leader, Larkin Cunningham as Lay Delegate, Judy Westbrook as Worship Chair, Thomas Shaver as Finance Chair, Dale King as SPRC Chair, and Terry Cobb as Trustee Chairman, with Jacob Douthit representing young adults.
The vision statement at the center of the church's life is plain and concrete: "Our vision is to help create disciples of Jesus Christ so that we might transform our community and our world. We do this by inviting others into relationship with Christ, reaching into our community, serving our world, growing in our faith, and worshiping God together."
Stay Connected
Bulletins and monthly newsletters are posted online for anyone who wants to follow along. The church shares announcements and updates on its Facebook page, and a youth-focused Instagram account keeps families in the loop about student ministry events. Giving is available through the church's online platform, and a prayer request form is available for anyone in the community who would like the prayer team's support.