The 164th Methodist Camp meeting, hosted annually by members of the Bend United Methodist Church at Bend, Texas, has been set for June 2-5, 2022. Services will be held at the historic Methodist Campground, located near Chappel Community at 1082 CR 432 in San Saba County. A complimentary meal will be served each night, Thursday through Saturday, at 6 p.m. The worship service will begin at 7 p.m. following the meal. The camp meeting will end with the Sunday morning services. Sunday School is at 10 a.m. and worship is at 11 a.m. A covered dish meal will be served at noon, following worship.
The evangelist for this year’s meeting is Reverend Eradio (Eddie) Valverde of Seguin, Texas. Born in Kingsville into an active Methodist family, at the age of 13, Eradio and his family moved to Hous ton. It was in the 11th grade that he felt called to ministry. After graduating high school at James Madison High School, he attended Lon Morris College and earned an A.A. He earned his B.A. in Sociology at Southwestern University in Georgetown before attending Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. In his last year at Perkins, he was appointed to serve Latin American UMC in Waco. He went on to serve churches in Rio Grande City, Edinburg, Mission, San Antonio, Harlingen, and San Marcos. He was appointed District Superintendent of the Corpus Christi District, where he served for seven years. On his retirement, he and his wife moved from Corpus Christi to Seguin. Shortly, he was asked to serve the First United Methodist Church in nearby Gonzales as their Minister of Nurture and Discipleship. He retired a second time and now devotes his time to writing and publishing a weekly devotional and podcast. He also continues to receive and answer invitations to preach at other churches.
In his 45 years of ministry, his theme for ministry has always been to share Jesus as the Hope of the World. His underlying reality was to grow the Kingdom of God. His theme for this year’s camp meeting will be “Why We Still Need Jesus.”
Reverend Valverde is married to Nellie, whom he met when he pastored El Mesias UMC in Mission, Texas. They have been married 45 years and have been blessed with four daughters, three sons-in-law, and six grandchildren.
Everyone is encouraged to come and be a part of this year’s camp meeting, join in fellowship, enjoy a meal together, and hear inspiring messages.