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Jim Wood, Board Member
Wears Valley Ranch
Founder and Executive
3601 Lyon Springs Road
Sevierville, TN 37862
(865) 429-KIDS
http://www.wvr.org
-Founder and President of Jim Wood Ministries
-Preaching Pastor, Covenant Comm. Church, Wears Valley, TN
-Trustee of Montreat College, Montreat, NC
-Host of Abiding in Christ
-Host of A Place to Call Home
-Author of eight books
Growing up in Montreat, North Carolina, Jim began preaching at age fifteen. After graduating from Gordon College in Massachusetts,
Jim married Susan McDonald of Shreveport, Louisiana. They began married life at French Camp Academy in Mississippi where they were house parents and
teachers for two years. Jim returned to New England and attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary earning a M. A. in Church History.
After pastoring in New England for five years, Jim was called as senior pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta where he served for six
years. During those years he was instrumental in developing a network of relationships among pastors of various denominations who covenanted to pray
for one another, encourage one another, and hold one another accountable. He was also a leader in efforts to defend the sanctity of human life and helped
reverse the policy of his own denomination's ethics agency regarding abortion.
In 1991, Jim, Susan, and their three sons left Atlanta to fulfill a vision for which they had prayed for over twenty years. Locating in the Great
Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, they established Wears Valley Ranch, a home and school for children from families in crisis. The Ranch has two homes for
boys and two homes for girls, each providing care for up to eight children. The children attend St. Andrew's School, a fully accredited K-12 program of
individualized education using innovative techniques developed at the Ranch. In addition to its residential and educational programs, each summer the
Ranch hosts dozens of other children who attend Camp Arrowwood where sports are used to build relationships and point children to Jesus. Many of these
campers have become residents of the year-round program of the Ranch.
Rather than take a salary from the Ranch, Jim supports his family through his continued ministry of preaching and teaching often focusing on marriage
and family issues. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and is the host of Abiding in Christ a radio broadcast heard nationally
Monday through Friday on XM 170 and Sirius 161. He and Susan have seven children and a granddaughter on the way. Their lives continue to be an example
of answered prayer.
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