Church of God Campmeeting Season Begins This Week
One of the longest standing traditions of the Church of God begins this week as the Northwestern Hispanic churches conduct campmeeting services April 23 and 24 in Oakland and Freeman, California.
While June and July remain the most popular months for holding campmeeting, others are conducting services as early as April and as late as November. Each state/region’s leadership makes the decision on when to conduct campmeeting based on a number of factors, including availability of speakers, venue, and even societal norms, such as school schedules.
“Cultural shifts, venue locations, schedules, and changing priorities have all contributed to the revamping of the ‘traditional’ way we do campmeeting in the Church of God,” stated David Ray, Director of Communications for the denomination. “Twenty or thirty years ago most campmeetings began on Monday, ended on Saturday, had one night speaker, one morning Bible teacher and were held on a campground under an open air tabernacle. In 2015, most of those dynamics have changed.”
Ray’s office gathered the information which is now posted on the Church of God website. A review of the schedule shows more than half with multiple evening speakers. A dozen states and regions have various Bible teachers as well. Meetings last between two and five days, with the majority lasting four days, ending on a Friday night, thus allowing pastors to avoid missing a Sunday at their local church.
The locations and types of campmeeting venues reflect the cultural shifts from families traveling many hours and staying on site in recreational vehicles, campers, dormitories, and even tents, to most staying off-site in hotels. However, there are still several campground/ conference centers where campmeeting is conducted, but all of them have a modern, air conditioned venue. States/regions which conduct campmeeting on a state-owned site include Florida-Tampa (Wimauma), South Georgia (Tifton), Kentucky (Lexington), Maryland-Delaware-DC (Georgetown, DE), Michigan (Fenton), Eastern North Carolina (Kenly), Western North Carolina (Whittier), Northeastern Hispanic (Allentown, PA), South Carolina (Simpsonville), Southwest Indian (Manuelito, NM), and Texas (Weatherford).
For a complete campmeeting schedule of dates, locations, and speakers, visit www.churchofgod.org and click on the campmeeting graphic.
