Preacher Ko Lingkang

HOW DID CHURCH CAMPS COME ABOUT?

Introduction

Throughout the world, many churches and Christian groups have their own brand of Bible camps, ranging from a truly outdoors camping experience which includes pitching tents and foraging for food, to the 5-star hotel experience that many churches in Singapore experience today. Aside from the annual family camp, our churches also have camps and retreats catered to various age groups, from the children and youths, to the young adults, seniors and even for the elderlies. Yet we realize that this tradition of having church camps had also originated in a certain time in history, and have evolved over the years to become what we have today. As we look forward to this year’s church camp, perhaps it would be good to take a look into history and find out what the origins of church camp are, and how did this practice of meeting in such a manner come about.

The Precursor to Church Camps

Perhaps the earliest example of a sort of "church camp" that we can see in the Bible would be the Feast of Tabernacles that God instituted for Israel in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 23:34-44, we see a description of a feast that they would have to keep for seven days a year, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This will be after their annual harvests, whereby they would gather the fruits of their harvest and keep a feast unto the Lord. During this week, they would not be allowed to do any work, but they would congregate to worship the Lord and keep a feast unto the Lord. Throughout the seven days, they would leave the comforts of their homes to dwell in tents, to remind them of their years of wilderness wondering, of how God had brought them out of Egypt. It would be a time of great blessing for them, as they set aside their daily routines and chores to gather for this holy celebration. They would spend time to remember God’s goodness in their lives, and rejoice before the Lord. It would also be a wonderful time of fellowship, as they feast together and encourage one another in the Lord.

Early Camp Meetings

We fast forward a few thousand years, and the next records that we have of camps would probably be the camp meetings held in America during the late 18th and 19th century. In those days, America was still a young nation, and much of their land was not properly colonised yet. Communities were formed and towns were established as the early settlers moved westward to occupy more and more of the continent. These settlements were known as the American frontier – rural sparsely populated colonies of men and women who were striving to seize opportunities for themselves in the land of the free. One problem that came out of this was the lack of local churches and sufficient pastors or ordained ministers to see to the spiritual needs of these frontier communities. The solution to this was the organization of camp meetings. Missionaries concerned about the spiritual lives of these settlers would travel to these frontier towns, pitch a tent or rent a hall and conduct their revival meetings. Some of them were just held in the open, where the preaching of God’s Word would attract people from around the community to come to listen. In fact, when it was known that a preacher was in town, many would travel from the surrounding regions to the site to be a part of these meetings. They would have to literally camp out in the open, around the site of the meeting, as there were neither adequate accommodations nor the funds to use them.

It is not known when the first camp meeting was held, but it is often attributed to the ministry of one such itinerant preacher, James McGready (1758-1817). He pioneered the work of revival amongst the Presbyterians on the American frontier through the use of camp meetings[1]. This became a practice not just by the Presbyterians, but also the Methodists and Baptists. It is said that "in some places between 20,000 and 30,000 persons assembled together, and meetings continued for six or seven days, in fact until food supplies failed"[2]. Perhaps the most famous early camp meeting would be that which was held in Cane Ridge, Kentucky in 1801. There it is said that "the revival in Kentucky was peculiarly adapted to the circumstances into which it came. Infidelity was triumphant and religion was on the point of expiring. This revival… has confounded infidelity and brought numbers beyond calculation under serious impressions"[3]. In such meetings, there would be preaching and hymn singing throughout the day, and many decisions for conversion were recorded. In these events, there was a huge emphasis on morality and revivalism, but sadly also a de-emphasis on formal theology[4]. The revivals in these camps all contributed to what became known as the Second Great Awakening in the history of Christianity in America.

Bible Conferences

Through the years, camp meetings continued to be conducted on a wide scale throughout America, and this practice was spread to churches throughout the world as well. Of course with progress and development in infrastructure, the camp meetings moved indoors, and specialized camp sites were build that would cater to such meetings. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the traditional camp meeting would be replaced by Bible Conferences, and would be used as a major influence in the development of Fundamentalism. One of the earliest of such meetings would be the Niagara Bible Conference which was organized almost every year from 1883 to 1897 at the Queen’s Royal Hotel near the Niagara River. In these meetings, "often every seat in the pavilion was occupied, and the porches were filled with eager hearers of the Word" [5]. One outcome of this particular conference was that it gave rise to the spread of many similar Bible conferences throughout America. By the 1940s, more than 200 such conferences were held every year in America, and had become "one of the most powerful factors in the spiritual life of the church"[6]. Another interesting contribution that it had was that "the conference gave early expression to Fundamentalism’s emphasis on concentrated Bible study… The program of a Niagara conference was often designed to expound one particular doctrine, Christology for example, with each speaker assigned a different section of Scripture through which he would trace the teaching"[7]. In time to come, organisations such as the Wilds and the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) would be established to organize and host such camps as well.

BP Church Camps

Our Senior Pastor Dr. Tow often fondly recalls how the first church camp which he organized back in Life BP Church was like. The conditions then were a far cry from the 5-star hotel experience that we enjoy today. Back then, their ‘hotel’ was the rented premises of a school, where classrooms served as dormitories and three tables put together served as their beds. The 50th anniversary magazine of Life BP Church records for us: "The first Life B-P Church annual Bible camp was held at the old Telok Paku Government School, Changi from 18-24 December 1954. Fifty members registered for the camp. Rev. Wilson Wang of Penang was the camp speaker". Since then, we have ventured out across the border to Malaysia and Indonesia for more comfortable and conducive camp sites where we can gather to study God’s Word and fellowship together as a church.

Though the venues have changed, and the environments and settings different, nonetheless the common desire to congregate for mutual blessing and edification remains. God’s Word continues to be central in our purpose of a Bible camp, just like how it was in the past. This year, from 16 to 21 June, we will return again to the IOI Marriott Hotel at Putrajaya, the same place we used last year. Much effort is being put in by the speakers and the committee to ensure that all spiritual and physical needs are met, and well provided for. I am sure everyone who attended last year’s camp would be able to testify of the great blessings received, and would certainly want to go again this year. For those who missed out on last year’s camp, I do urge you to make it a point to come this year. Registration begins this Sunday – what are you waiting for?