Pastor of the Raeford Evangelical Methodist Church, Raeford, North Carolina.
Pastor Roger and his wife Ann, and family, began their pastorate here in August 2011 after serving faithfully at First Evangelical Methodist Church in Covington, KY.
“When God called me to Raeford, HE did not just call me to this church, but he called my family too.”
Pastor Roger has been in the ministry for seventeen years. He has served as youth/ children’s pastor, as well as Sr. pastor. He has a passion to preach and teach the Word of God in an applicable way.
“I believe the Word of God is exactly that, the inerrant Word of God. It applies, and has an answer to every trial we face on this earth.”
Pastor Roger is passionate about getting outside the church walls to Outreach, and be a part of the Community of Raeford.
Pastor Roger is a graduate of Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Interesting note: There are three generations of Burns pastors. Pastor Roger’s father, Rev. Carl Burns ministers in Covington, KY, as well as his son, Pastor Roger Eric Burns II, ministers in Jacksonville, NC.
Pastor Roger’s Life verse,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Youth Leader
Joe Brubaker
We are excited to have our new Youth Leader, Joe Brubaker on board. Our Youth meet on Sunday mornings at 10:45 AM, and Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM. They sometimes have a "lock down" where they spend the night at the church, go out bowling and other various activities together.
Joe Brubaker began serving as youth minister in April of 2023. He hails from South Central Pennsylvania, where he was inspired by his extended family's commitment to striving to live for Christ through serving others. As a youth, he served children as a volunteer for Child Evangelism Fellowship, as a CEF summer missionary, and worked with adults, children, and teens on the streets of the Bronx, NYC. During those ministries, he learned to apply the ideas Jesus expressed in Mark 10:13-16 and Matthew 18:3-6--Do NOT hinder the little children. He built on his passion as an elementary Sunday School Teacher and Missions Committee Member, before the Lord called him to minister as a teacher in NC.
Viewing Facebook LIVE, God led Joe to attend Wednesday evenings at REM, "the first time as a visitor and second as family." He grew to love the people and the atmosphere and joined in membership months later. It is his desire to "bloom where he is planted,"-the Lord certainly has allowed that here. Joe began to lead the youth because God gave him this opportunity to serve in "such a time as this" (Esther 4:14); he seeks to serve the youth in prayer and Bible reading. Through the past months, God has molded him with the verses and concepts of 1 Peter 3:15-16 and Colossians 4:2-6. These verses solidified his calling to minister to the youth, both as a high school teacher and in God's church.
To fulfill this calling, he is motivated by Paul's command in 1 Timothy 4:9-14a. With the support of prayer partners, his mission is to instill the wisdom of God for the youth to use in contemporary society; teaching them to always serve and care for others (before themselves) with a focus on personal growth in Christ.
This will be done with the motto: "Running the Race (Hebrews 12:1-2); Reaching Others (Hebrews 10:24-25 & 1 Peter 1:9-11)."
Pray for our youth and for Joe as he leads our young people.
