A camp meeting was a seminal feature of Protestant Christianity for a time in the United States.
But what were they?
Opportunities for Christians in a community to gather and worship God. Folks would come together to hear Biblical teachings, to mingle, and to be refreshed.
They were particularly important in frontier days.
Early camp meetings
The first camp meeting in Georgia took place in 1803 on Shoulderbone Creek. The concept had become popular during the Second Great Awakening as preachers like George Whitefield and Charles Finney gathered folks together.
Camp meetings lasted up to five days and featured revival preaching day and night. Whites, blacks, men, women, and persons of all denominations took turns exhorting would-be converts.
Repentant sinners were asked to approach the “anxious bench,” where they sat with all eyes on them until they were converted to Christ’s cause.
During the so-called Second Great Awakening, from about 1790 through 1830, camp meetings became one of the most popular ways to preach the revival message.
Revivals and Camp Meetings
A camp meeting in The Dogtrot Christmas
One such meeting played a role in my first novella, The Dogtrot Christmas.
Set in 1836 Texas when Protestant gatherings were actually illegal, I used it as an opportunity to bridge cultural differences.
Here’s what our heroine, Molly, thought about attending one.
Molly loved camp meetings. The sweet hymns sung by the women reminded her of her own mother’s songs. The Bible stories captured her imagination and made her feel closer to God.
Camp meetings were opportunities to fellowship and swap stories; “sparking” often went on between young couples.
“The Dogtrot Christmas” from A Log Cabin Christmas Collection
There was also Biblical teaching, singing, meal sharing, and basically, a group of like-minded people camping for as much as a week together.
Particularly for those living far from town, a camp meeting often provided the majority of their social interaction.
God’s Bible School’s annual Camp Meeting
Oswald Chambers’ and Lettie and Charles Cowman attended summer meetings in the early 20th century..
All three spoke at the annual God’s Bible School “Mount of Blessing” camp meetings held, not out in the country, but on the lawn of the Cincinnati school.
Chambers attended as a speaker in 1907-1910. The Cowmans stopped in as part of their “deputation tours” (fundraising trips) between 1904 and 1920. Lettie continued visiting over the years, enjoying her time with friends and supporters.
The five days provided a time of refreshment and encouragement; the highlight of the summer for many attendees.
Meeting locations
Meetings took place throughout the frontier areas and up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Chambers himself traveled the circuit, preaching at a variety of spots from the Denton, Delaware camp meeting all the way up to Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
(Oswald and Biddy Chambers attended the Old Orchard meeting while on their honeymoon in 1910!)
God’s Revivalist Magazine posted the locations of Holiness meetings in their magazine in the early 20th-century.
They continue to this day, but in improved facilities–more like a family camp experience.
A Northern New England Conference held a virtual camp meeting in 2020.
Modern Revivals?
Camp meetings were the predecessors of revival meetings and the gospel crusades led by Billy Graham.
Retreats or church-run family camps may be of a similar nature. They all share the same goal: becoming closer to God.
And maybe having a good time along the way.
Tweetables
What is a camp meeting and how was Oswald Chambers involved? Click to Tweet
Camp meetings and Lettie Cowman; revival again? Click to Tweet
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