Specialists

Eddie Erwin

Eddie is a life-long United Methodist and has served at all levels of our connection. Eddie has served as District Lay Leader, General & Jurisdictional Conference delegate for 2012, 2016, 2019, & 2020. In addition, he served as Executive Secretary for the Division on Ministry with Young People for the 2012-2016 quadrennium, attended the Global Young People’s Convocation in 2014 in the Philippines, and led the South-Central Jurisdictional Delegation to South Africa 2018. From 2015-2021 Eddie served as the Director of Youth & Young Adults of the Texas Conference. Currently, he is Director of Student Ministries for Wildwood UMC, Executive Director of the South-Central Jurisdiction, and Methodist youth Ministry Alliance. In addition, he serves on the non-profit boards of Bee Harmony, Institute for Local Church Growth, and the Lydia Patterson Institute. Eddie lives with his wife, Emily, and their three children in Klein, Texas. When he is not serving the Kingdom, he enjoys the outdoors, traveling, investing in young people, and driving his children to their next activity.

Retreats- Eddie Erwin has been leading retreats for over 20 years. He is equipped for all aspects, from simply developing themes or designs to staffed retreats that allow the leaders to engage fully with their participants. He has been responsible for retreats as small as a dozen participants to several thousand. Eddie leads retreat in downtown metropolises, deep in the piney woods, and even several aboard cruise ships. He specializes in guiding a leadership team by planning and executing a fruitful retreat while developing their gifts and providing connectional retreat opportunities for congregations that can’t produce their own.

Rev. Eric Pugh

Eric is a native Ohioan, who grew up in Central Ohio, attended The Ohio State University earning a BS in Biological Sciences. Eric served 8 years in Parks and Recreation Management in Ohio and Texas, prior to answering his call to ministry. Eric has been in full-time ministry with the United Methodist Church since 2005, serving in Youth, Young Adult, Family, Missions. Currently he serves as the Executive Pastor for John Wesley UMC in Houston, Tx. Eric is an ordained Deacon in the UMC, with an MTS from SMU - Perkins School of Theology. He is currently working toward a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching, from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, in Chicago. Eric has been married for 21 years and has 3 teenage daughters. Eric is an outdoor and travel enthusiast. He is passionate about helping others discover their God given gifts, answer their unique call to ministry and achieve their goals.  Eric is an excellent communicator, with great interpersonal skills which allow him to lead in small and large group settings.

Eric has planned and led more than 30 camps, retreats, and trips over the course of his ministry. In the past 5 years Eric has developed intentional immersive learning experiences which focus on spiritual growth and development of individuals and groups. These immersive experiences are modeled after spiritual pilgrimages and are usually 3-5 days long. All these experiences are grounded in Wesleyan theology and designed to help bring the black and white text of scripture to life for youth and adults.

Josh Pulver

As the son of a United Methodist Pastor, I have spent my entire life in ministry.  Even while working for Oklahoma State University, I was active in my local congregation as well as the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference. In 2011, I started my full-time ministry at Egan Camp & Retreat Center in Oklahoma and served there until moving to Lakeview in 2019.  In one way or another, my adult life has revolved around ministry through hospitality, event planning, and fundraising. I am excited to work with you to help strengthen The Kingdom of God.

Every successful retreat has the same common factors: They meet a purpose, are well-planned and marketed, and they provide an experience that cannot be duplicated in the everyday setting. With over 25 years of experience in planning and hosting camps and retreats, I have seen many successful retreats as well as unsuccessful ones.  I truly believe God reaches people in a new way when we retreat from our normal lives and allow Him to meet us there.