Our story
A church the Lower Keys asked for.
In the early 1960s, Methodists on Big Pine and the Lower Keys had nowhere nearby to worship. So they wrote a letter to the bishop. Big Pine United Methodist Church has been the answer since 1963.
How it started
The body of Christ in action
A group of Methodists on Big Pine and the other Lower Keys, with no church nearby, sent a letter to the Bishop of the Florida Conference asking for one. After looking into it, the conference asked the Miami District, now the Southeast District, to get a church started.
The land was donated by the developers of Sugar Loaf Shores, the Radford Crane family and the Rimersburg Coal Company. The District Mission Fund gave $20,000 for the first building, which came in at $19,900. The pews came from Old Stone Church and were refinished by church member Paul Whesdos.
Our first pastor, Rev. Jerry Brummett, served as a missionary pastor to both Big Pine and the Big Coppitt church, with support from the Miami District Board of Church Extension.
Our connectional church was instrumental in establishing the church on Big Pine.
Neighbors asked, the district answered, and churches across the conference helped pay for it. That is how United Methodists still work together today.
Traveling and searching for a United Methodist church?
Find a church →1963
From groundbreaking to dedication in four months
July 14, 1963
Ground is broken
Construction begins on the first building at Key Deer Boulevard.
November 10, 1963
The first service
The congregation worships in its new building for the first time.
November 24, 1963
The church is dedicated
Big Pine’s Methodist church is officially dedicated, two weeks after its first service.
From our archives
Voices raised, and a painting that remains
This photo from years past shows our choir in full voice during worship.
Behind them is Captain James Wilson’s painting of Christ in Gethsemane. It still hangs in our sanctuary today.
Our stained glass
Windows made by neighbors
In 1988, Mr. Bernal Johnson designed five windows for the sanctuary’s new extension. Mr. Rossie of Saint Peter Catholic Church made the windows, and Mr. Johnson painted in the faces and features himself.
Later, Mr. Johnson designed the windows for what was then the fellowship hall, and church members D. and H. Baker completed them.
Today
Still answering the call
More than sixty years later, we still gather every Sunday at 10:00 AM, led today by Rev. Rushing Kimball. And we keep serving this island the way the church was started: by showing up for neighbors who need a place. Our showers serve neighbors without housing, our doors stay open to recovery groups, and every spring we host a community health fair.
Loving Jesus. Welcoming you. Exactly as you are.
Our pastors
Those who have served Big Pine
Pastors who have served our congregation since 1963.
See the list of pastors
- Jerry BrummettFounding pastor1963–1967
- Marvin Buckner1967–1968
- Donald Brown1968–1971
- James Martin1971–1973
- Wayne Thomas1973–1975
- Lewis Taylor1975–1976
- Gerald Zuern1976–1978
- Alfred Wadd1978
- William Mullinax1978–1983
- David Knox1983–1984
- Robert Smith1984–1993
- Wesley Olin1993–1994
- Richard Derreth1994–2005
- Greer Jensen2005–2009
- Eugenia Joyce Alexander2009–2015
- John Hill2016–2019
- William Finnin2019–2024
- Brian Christopher Sanders, Elder & Charissa Ann Jaeger-Sanders, Deacon2024–2026
- Rushing KimballCurrent pastor2026–present