Pastor Dean Murphy and his wife Helen have been married for 58 years and have resided in Hawkins County since 2020. For more than 46 years, Dean has been called to minister and recently retired from New Song Community Church in Lake Elsinore, CA, which he founded in 1993. He was called to begin New Song Fellowship in 2022 officially ending his "short-lived retirement".
Dean was blessed to teach at the Calvary Chapel Bible College for eleven years and has led more than 30 short-term mission teams serving God in the US as well as internationally.
We left California two years ago (2022) and I've enjoyed the people, the pace, and the places here in East Tennessee immensely. Of course, we all miss family when we leave one place for another, but we also found it difficult to find a good church fit. After searching for and attending and serving at good churches here, we didn't find exactly what we were looking for, so we're now building a church family from the ground up.
I've been part of planting churches before and it is great to be part of new ministry. As a pastor for over 40 years, I love teaching the Bible simply; line-by-line and verse-by-verse. I enjoy simple worship, beloved hymns, and simple choruses focusing on Biblical doctrine. God's Word and joyful worship... that is how we are building "New Song Fellowship".