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Pastors Mark & Deanna Mueller co-founded Hearth Ministries in 2019 as a refuge of rest and retreat for those in ministry.

Seven years ago Mark, a Worship Leader, and Dee, an Executive Pastor, were hit with life-altering circumstances amidst increasing ministry demands. They began to look at their calendar, praying to get through one last ministry event and the end of the year. The holidays promised a much needed retreat with their family among the mountains of Young Harris, Georgia.

Early one morning while the family slept, Dee made her way to the top of the mountain on which their friend's cabin was nestled. She noticed a growing tightness in her chest as she crested the summit. Attributing the pain to cold or steepness of the climb, Dee turned her focus to the breath-taking view of the mountains--awed by the grandeur and majesty of our God.

Standing with outstretched arms in bowed surrender, Dee laid it all down—their lives, family, ministry, and future. Within weeks she and Mark would begin to live out this surrendered moment following a trip to the ER that revealed arterial spasms within Dee's heart. The doctor recommended a year sabbatical (at the very least) with a plan to step down from ministry in a church the couple had served for 32 years.

As days of rest turned into weeks, months into the changing of seasons, the Lord's healing Presence began to undo the accumulation of stress and trauma. His voice revealed a new season’s calling.

They did not know it then, but they we were experiencing the beginnings of a vision that would one day be Hearth—a welcoming place of healing and rest for pastors and ministers experiencing burn out and disconnect from the Father. Mark and Dee began to envision a home alight with both a physical and spiritual warmth to bring comfort to weary souls. 

Welcome to Hearth Ministries!