FAMILY CAMP: Where It”s At!

By Arron Chambers

Camp meetings are a unique American phenomenon that began in the 18th century and arose out of necessity and desperation. There were not enough preachers and church buildings to contain the people who””driven by a deep desire to hear God”s Word and to be around God”s people””were desperate to gather for fellowship, spiritual nourishment, and Communion.

Church walls””both physical and denominational””could not constrain the revival that was spreading across Kentucky and Ohio, so when a Communion service was announced for the first Sunday of August, 1801, 20,000 to 30,000 people loaded their wagons, left their homes, and gathered on the grounds of the Cane Ridge meetinghouse in central Kentucky expecting God to do something special.

On his way to Cane Ridge a man wrote:

My dear friend, I am on my way to one of the greatest meetings of the kind perhaps ever known. . . . Religion has got to such a height here, that people attend from a great distance; on this occasion I doubt not but there will be 10,000 people. . . . The people encamp on the ground, and continue praising God, day and night, for one whole week before they break up.¹

These words, written 205 years ago by a man en route to Kentucky, could have been written by anyone en route to the Hillsboro Family Camp meeting in southern Ohio.

I”ve been blessed to be connected with the Hillsboro Family Camp for many years. My father began speaking at Family Camp many years ago, and my brother and I occasionally joined him. My dad was speaking at Family Camp in 1988 when he died while taking a nap in a trailer during the afternoon break. I”ve been blessed to speak at Family Camp several times in the past few years, and each time I leave refreshed, encouraged, and proud to be a part of the Restoration Movement.

As a student of the Restoration Movement, I know that participating in the Family Camp meeting gives me an opportunity to experience a glimpse of what our Restoration Movement ancestors experienced more than 200 years ago.

Heritage

The Hillsboro Family Camp””and the other family camps associated with the Restoration Movement””are not just an important part of our heritage; they are a result of our heritage. All camp meetings in the Restoration Movement can trace their origins to the impact of the Cane Ridge revival. One historian notes,

Cane Ridge helped stimulate planned camping. Within two years, dozens of ministers and entrepreneurs began organizing camp meetings. Within a decade practically every Methodist circuit had an annual camp, whereas the more evangelical Presbyterians soon converted their sacramental services into camp meetings.²

Since their inception, camp meetings have been popular because they not only provide an opportunity for large numbers of people to gather for religious edification, but they also provide people an opportunity for relaxation, renewal, and recreation.

This is why the Hillsboro Family Camp is popular and growing every year and the reason why it was started 35 years ago.

Person to Person Ministries, established in 1967 under the direction of Larry “Bus” Wiseman (director 1967-1977) with the help of several Hillsboro natives, desired to minister to families, so it planned and hosted the first Family Camp at the Marvin Wilson Farm outside of Hillsboro, Ohio, in 1972. About 15 families loaded their station wagons and trailers, left their homes, and gathered on the grounds of the Wilson farm for the first Hillsboro Family Camp meeting expecting God to do something special. Soon the property was purchased and named Restoration Acres.

Family Camp Today

Restoration Acres now includes 153 acres of campgrounds with nearly 600 campsites and facilities where more than 4,000 people converge each year for the annual camp meeting.

Hillsboro Family Camp, held the week of the last Tuesday of July, has programs for all ages. The camp meeting starts on Monday evening and runs through Thursday evening, but there is also a Sunday morning and evening worship service, with graded programs for Sunday school. Many families arrive on the Thursday and Friday prior to Family Camp, with the rest of the campers arriving in time for the Monday evening program.

Each morning starts with a family worship service in the main pavilion. After family devotions, the youth are dismissed to their sessions. The youth have sessions in the morning and evening, with recreation in the afternoon. There are sessions for the adults all day, with a special ladies” session on Wednesday afternoon. There are breaks for lunch and supper with each family preparing its own meal.

Hillsboro Family Camp has excellent camping facilities (600 sites, electric hookups, water, and restrooms and showers for tent campers); great programming for age 2 through adults; a great location close to many attractions (Cincinnati, Kings Island amusement park, the U.S. Air Force Museum, caves, lakes, etc.); dynamic adult programming featuring speakers of various ages, styles, and ministry backgrounds; and loyal attendees who travel from all across the country to attend. Each year there are campers from over half the United States.

Kerry Allen, director of Person to Person Ministries and Family Camp since October 1999, is correct when he says, “If you want a retreat, revival, and convention all in one package, Family Camp is where it”s at.”

And I agree.

________

¹Letter from Bourbon County to a friend in Baltimore, August 7, 1801, in Gospel News, 4, and in slightly different form in Methodist Magazine 25 (1802), 263.

²John Lyle diary, 21-35; A.H. Redford, History of Methodism in Kentucky, Vol. 1, 356-57.

 

 

Arron Chambers serves with Christ”s Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He is a contributing editor to CHRISTIAN STANDARD.