Adventists very early adopted this form of gathering and camp meetings became very much a part of the movement’s religious and social fabric.
Believers -- and the curious -- would gather sometimes for weeks on end in portable communities where they would spend hours in Bible study, singing and prayer. These were a key part of the Second Great Awakening both in North America and in Great Britain.
Adventists very early adopted this form of gathering and camp meetings became very much a part of the movement’s religious and social fabric. And why not? After all, Scripture says: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25; emphasis added)
Some of the excesses and emotionalism that were very much a part of the “camp meeting” experience during the frontier days were set aside by the new Adventist movement. But much of the practice was also carried over into the life of this new denomination.
Ellen White wrote quite a bit about camp meetings. In fact, in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, she devoted over 40 pages to the blessing of camp meetings and how and where to conduct them. In those pages, she covered everything from what to preach to how to drain rainwater from the family tent areas to avoid disease. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, pp. 31 – 71)
In that passage one finds mentioned three basic purposes for camp meetings.
Evangelism. Clearly, she saw camp meetings having as their primary purpose the spreading of the teaching of the Three Angels’ Message. In fact, the entire section is embedded in a chapter entitled “The Evangelistic Work.” In pursuit of this main goal of camp meetings, she encouraged the “brethren” to hold smaller gatherings in more places and to move the camp meetings around to “unentered areas” to expose more people to the Truth.
Revival of the Members. These gatherings were also to be a time of spiritual refreshment for Adventist attendees. This was an opportunity to set aside busy lives and devote time exclusively to renewing one’s walk with Christ.
Training for Mission. Throughout the rather short history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, there has been a strong emphasis on the ministry of lay persons. We have, at least in theory, taken a very practical approach to the theology of the priesthood of all believers. Camp meetings, in Ellen White’s perspective, were to be a time when church members could be trained to minister in their local context.
A Time for Prayer. These gatherings provided an opportunity to gather with fellow believers in earnest prayer. As the disciples gathered in the Upper Room after the Ascension of Jesus, Adventists are called to the work of prayer, understanding that through prayer we too become united and prepared to receive the Holy Spirit.
Camp meetings look different today than they did when Ellen White wrote these pages. But those four main areas of emphasis mentioned above remain the same. I hope that this summer you will find time to attend one of the dozen camp meetings that will be held throughout the territory of the Lake Union and be blessed by all that camp meeting has to offer.
Ken Denslow is president of the Lake Union Conference.
