Jeff Wadley is the 2026 Appalachian Trail Chaplain, a ministry of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Posts By This Author
Church in the Wilderness
08-27-2026
Bringing the church to the Appalachian Trail.
View of the Appalachian Trail through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. / Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty
A LOT OF FOLKS on the Appalachian Trail come out here to escape something: a failed relationship, they got fired, they’re going through cancer, or they’ve recovered from cancer. They’ve gotten out of the military. You name it. We wanted to bring the church from the four walls out into the wilderness, to be among people walking the trail who are dealing with all that life throws out.