Actscelerate.com

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1860 **7/1/19 6:13 pm**

What is the purpose of camp meeting? Maybe if we can answer that question it will help us. Is it a celebration of the past ? Is it a â€œrefresh the weary pastorâ€ gathering ? Is it a church-growth conference? Is it simply a time of fellowship? None of those things are inherently evil. But when expectations are not met, disappointment is sure to follow.

I have fond memories of camp meetings, but theyâ€™re all older memories. Iâ€™m an older guy but I donâ€™t enjoy camp meeting much anymore. And it has nothing to do with worship style. It simply feels like we are trying to preserve a relic from days gone by. We lament the lack of laity and young people at camp meeting but refuse to acknowledge why. This is the reason churches die. When they no longer look like their communities, they die a slow and painful death. And no, Iâ€™m not suggesting we water down the Word or become â€œworldlyâ€ (this of course, means different things to different people).

So again, I propose the question- what is the purpose of camp meeting ?

Eddie Robbins

Acts-pert Poster Posts: 16509 **7/2/19 7:11 am**

Campmeeting is for people to fellowship. They enjoy a time to worship, hear the Word and go out to eat. Itâ€™s also a time for people to â€œpolitic.â€ Lots of folks looking for work or to swap churches.

Nature Boy Florida

Acts-pert Poster Posts: 16619 **7/2/19 7:19 am**

FLRon

Acts-celerater Posts: 769 **7/4/19 11:47 am**

I wonder how many pastors actually encourage their people to attend Camp meeting now? Speaking only for the church I attend, we never heard one word about it. Same for the past two years. It's kinda hard to get people to attend if they never hear about it. For myself,I check the website so I can stay informed,but not everyone makes the effort.

I went last year,my first opportunity since moving here. The only person I knew was Jentezen, having met him several times in the past, but the likelihood of going out to eat with him was less than zero. This year I didn't go because it's really not that much fun going by yourself.
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“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”
Voddie Baucham

Brandon Bohannon

Acts-celerater Posts: 571 **7/6/19 7:23 pm**

I am 43 years old. I've been a lead pastor for 8 years and 7 months. Before that I was a staff pastor for 9 years. Before that I lived in a COG pastor/associate pastor's home for 21 years.

As a lead pastor I have spent 4 years on our state council and am in my 3rd year on our state church ministries board (evangelism board). I have spoken in a morning service, sung specials, sung in choirs, led prayer, read Scripture, led offering, taken up offering, been transportation for guests, helped in the altars, handed out programs and materials, manned booths, moved chairs and tables, and have or will do whatever my state family needs for me to do.

I have encouraged and supported our worship pastors to be a part of the state worship team by playing their instruments, singing specials, working cameras, singing on worship teams and in choirs. Two former worship pastors played instruments, helped with sound and lights, and one played and sang an original piece that he wrote during one of this year's services.

I have encouraged and supported our children's pastors to be a part of the state children's team by running the state camp meeting children's services. Our current children's pastor (tomorrow is her last day with us) led these state camp meeting children's services for several years. This year one of our terrific young volunteers led all of our state camp meeting children's services and just returned home from leading the children's services for the New Mexico COG youth camp.

I have encouraged and supported our student ministries pastors to be a part of both the week of camp meeting and the Friday night youth service, youth choir, and afterglow. Our student pastors helped work altars all week, manned our overseer's personal booth, sang a special in one of the services, and participated in the Friday youth activities.

Both churches that I have pastored not only allowed for us to be at camp meeting but several of them would attend as well. Our current church family (2 years now) has had as many as 100 attenders in a single night service 4 times in those 2 years.

I worked 2 winter prayer conferences and 1 summer camp meeting with and for my senior pastor in New Jersey and then multiple state conferences for my senior pastor in North Georgia. Why? Because they both were connected into state leadership, cared about camp meeting, and encouraged their staffs and congregations to attend, support and serve at state meetings.

As a child, camp meeting was fun and full. It isn't what it used to be. Crowds do seem smaller, the music and dress/pageantry has changed a lot, and altar services seem more geared for the worn out pastor than for the lost. BUT...

My view of camp meeting has changed as well. It now seems more like a family reunion. I now go to serve and don't expect to be served or for things to be planned around me. I must say that this year I experienced the ugly-cry-can't-stand-up-straight-power-of-God while Voices of Lee led worship. The Holy Ghost cleaned my heart and mind. I don't know if anyone else felt anything. I was lost in His presence. The preaching of 3rd Assistant GO, Dr. David Ramirez and Pastor Ken Hall was corrective, honest, hard, but, seasoned by the Holy Ghost in such a way that a discerning listener (to them that have ears to hear) could recognize that the Word was coming forth from the throne of Almighty God. We also got to hear morning messages from in-state pastors, my close friend, Brady Hacker from San Antonio, my parents pastor, Mike Cleghorn from Lubbock, and a great young pastor from Iowa Park named Daniel Robertson. Doug Baker from Alabama spoke in our late morning sessions and I received some really good stuff from him.

Camp meeting is what you put into it, what you make of it. In that way, camp meeting is a whole lot like Sunday morning at your church. Just my opinion.

What's yours? (shout out to the actscelerate OG, DD)
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Proverbs 3:5-6; John 13:34-35; Acts 1:8

Belieber

Yawn

Hey, DOC Posts: 50 **7/23/19 7:43 am**

It's 2019. Let go of the past and move on. If all we did at campmeeting was sing and preach the same way it was 100 years ago, then all of the people would go back to their churches and expect their church to be and do the same and never change. We have enough of that old 'spiritual' mentality to overcome now as it is. If you want or feel like you need to throw some older songs in there, sure go ahead. But don't try to keep reliving the past through campmeeting.