During its history, it has been the place of worship for many of the pioneer families of Tazewell County. Its pulpit has been graced by ministers of Power who have walked in Jesus' steps. Among these men have included Tyler Frazier, "Brother" Bob Sheffey, Stewart French, C. R. Brown, B. Price, Charles Dyer and many others.
In the year 1793, three Methodist conferences were held in Virginia. The conference for western Virginia met in Greenbrier County on May 25, 1793. At this conference, the Rev. John Kobler was ordained elder and appointed to the New River Circuit. According to Bennett's Memorials of Methodism in Virginia, Kobler was one to the purest and most zealous of the circuit riders of the west. Bickley's History of Tazewell County states that the first sermon preached in what is now Tazewell County was by the Rev. Kobler in 1793. This sermon may be regarded as the budding of Methodism in the county. Among his converts were Jeremiah and Sarah Witten, William and Letitia Witten, John and Sarah Peery, Elizabeth Greenup, Samuel Ferguson, Isabella Ferguson, and Simon and Lettie Smith. Thomas Peery gave them a piece of land and in 1797 the first of the church's three structures was erected, the Pisgah Meetinghouse.
Price's Holston Methodism speaks of a Dr. Jacob Young, D. D. who was appointed to the Clinch Circuit by Bishop Asbury for the years 1803-1804. He speaks of preaching several times among the Garrisons, Higginbothams, Wittens, and Youngs. They received him as a messenger from God.
On September 10, 1805 William and Letitia Witten and John and Elizabeth Greenup gave four and one-half acres of land for the purpose of formally deeding the church property at the Courthouse in the newly created Tazewell County. The first notice of Tazewell appearing as a separate circuit was in 1815 when the conference appointed the Rev. George Ekin as pastor-in-charge. As a result of deterioration due to age the old log meetinghouse was replaced in 1870 with a new white weatherboard structure on the site of the original log church.
The coming of the Clinch Valley Line of the present-day Norfolk-Southern Railroad to this section in 1888 necessitated the moving of the church since the railway passed through the church property. As a result the site of the present church was obtained from Dr. Raleigh Witten in 1889. Therefore, the relatively new 1870 church was replaced by the present structure in 1889.
During the 198 years of its existence, this church has had many loyal supporters. Among them was Miss Martie Witten, daughter of Dr. Raleigh Witten, who bequeathed $1,000, the interest from which was to be used for the upkeep of the church.
In 1940, under the leadership of the Rev. Lee Hill and Mr. J. P. Barrett, major repairs were made on the church. In 1959, the whole interior of the church was refinished including the lowering of the ceiling. Much of this work was made possible through a bequest of a long-time pianist for the church, Ms. Ella Peery. During the year 1962, under the leadership of Rev. W. E. Mustard and Sunday School Superintendent, John H. Mullins, Sunday School rooms were built in the basement.
In July of 1973, Miss Annie O. Crockett, a life-long members of Pisgah Church passed away leaving her entire estate to be used for the future growth of the church. Her gift made possible the building of a new addition to the church. The addition increased the size of the sanctuary, as well as provided kitchen and bathroom facilities. The sanctuary was also carpeted and paneled.
During 1983, Mr. Henry Mutter, a life-long resident of Tazewell County, passed away leaving his estate to be divided equally between the Pisgah and Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Churches. In early 1987 Mr. A. Jefferson Higginbotham passed away leaving Pisgah Church an endowment that will benefit the church for years to come. As a result of the bequests of persons such as Ms. Ella Peery, Miss Annie O. Crockett, Mr. Henry Mutter and Mr. Jeff Higginbotham, a much stronger ministry will be possible for years to come to the people of this church and community.
Also during 1987 the church was air-conditioned and a chain-link fence was built around the sides and back of the church. Another first for the church in 1987 was the presence of two United Methodist Bishops in our pulpit during the same year. Resident Bishop, R. Kern Eustler preached during the morning worship service on Sunday, February 1 while Bishop L. Scott Allen preached during the Tazewell District Revival on Tuesday evening, August 11.
The Commonwealth of Virginia officially acknowledged the historical significance of Pisgah Church by erecting a historic marker directly in front of the church on U. S. Routes 19-460 in June of 1990. The church received another distinct honor at the 1991 Session of the Holston Annual Conference in June. By vote of the members of the conference Pisgah United Methodist Church was officially named a United Methodist Historic Site. The church undertook a major building program in 1993 constructing additional Sunday School rooms, a new fellowship hall and an overflow for the main sanctuary. Also during 1993 the church celebrated its bicentennial with monthly activities highlighting the two-hundred year history of the congregation. Bishop Clay Lee of the Holston Conference delivered the message on bicentennial homecoming Sunday, September 12, 1993 with more than 225 persons in attendance. The first sermon preached by the new Holston Conference Bishop, Rev. James Swanson, in the Tazewell District was delivered at the 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning worship service at Pisgah October 10, 2004. At the present time Pisgah Church has a membership of 150 with an average Sunday morning attendance of 80. The United Methodist Men, the United Methodist Women, the United Methodist Youth, the youth choir, Wings of Love, Heaven's Little Harmonies, and the adult choir are all very active groups.
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