Camp Meeting Services 2010

Indian Springs, Mossy Oak, Pine Log, Poplar Springs, Salem, Shingle Roof, and Smyrna are but a few of the nearly one hundred Camp Meetings that dot the state of Georgia. Camp Meetings are a historic institution. They go back to the early days of our nation. The first recorded Camp Meetings took place during the Second Great Awakening (1720-1780).

Camp Meetings in those days were a real religious experience. They often lasted five days or more. Preaching and worship took place day and night under trees and brush arbors. In the Camp Meeting worship services the people sang new and spirited songs. Hymnals were very limited in those days, so most singing was led by a song leader in a call and response fashion. Camp Meeting preachers were known for proclaiming the gospel with power and emotion.

The Cane Ridge, Kentucky Camp Meeting in 1801 drew 20,000 to 30,000 people. In the crowd were Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and un-churched people. One day while I was at Asbury Theological Seminary, I drove out to Cane Ridge. Cane Ridge is located in Bourbon County, Kentucky. The old log cabin meeting house where the Camp Meeting revival began is still standing there. The Cabin stands in wooded grove in the middle of vast acres of rolling farm land. There were a few houses here and there, but Cane Ridge was and still is in the middle of nowhere.

As I looked out on the vast expanse of rolling farmland, I thought about the 20,000 to 30,000 people gathered there in 1801. I thought about where they came from. From the beginning Camp Meetings were a democratic and egalitarian experience. People from all walks and stations of life attended. I thought about the religious experiences they had while at the Camp Meeting revival. Reporters from those early camp meeting days tell of people shouting, jerking around, barking like dogs, and passing out in the spirit. I thought about the good news they took back to their homes and communities, and the change that news might have brought. Many congregations and churches were born out of Camp Meeting gatherings.

This month we will go back to the Camp Meeting days. We won’t travel to Cane Ridge. We won’t put saw dust on the floor. We will have air conditioning, hymnals, and soft pews to sit on. We will sing the old fashioned Camp Meeting gospel songs. I plan on preaching some old fashioned Camp Meeting sermons. We can only imagine how God might move in these services.

So come on and join me for Camp Meeting 2010. Let’s revive our faith and quicken our Godly living.