The South Carolina Camp-Meeting
By W. S. Chapman
The first camp-meeting ever held in the South Carolina mission field opened July 27 and closed August 6. In many respects it proved to be a most remarkable meeting. The site was at Glendale, a suburb of Spartanburg, six miles from the city. The brethren first tried to find a lot in the village for a tent effort, but as this was a “corporation site” owned by the proprietors of the cotton mill there, they were refused a location because the meetings would keep the mill-hands up late, and they would not get to work on time mornings. Across the river the Spartanburg Trolley-car Company has a dancing pavilion and pleasure-grounds. Permission was given to erect a forty-foot tent on the grounds near the station of the street-car line, and here meetings were begun. Finally the superintendent gave Elder Webster the free use of all the grounds, and the pavilion lighted with electricity, free of all charge for the ten days of the camp-meeting, withdrawing all other attractions, and, in addition, put in electric lights in the forty-foot tent. The laborers from abroad were unanimous in the opinion that it was the best and most convenient camp-ground they had ever seen in the South. The total membership of the mission field does not exceed, possibly, seventy-six adults, yet there were forty-eight grown persons and twenty-eight children camped on the grounds. From the beginning, there was a steady growth in spirituality, and every meeting was marked by evidences of a deep and more intelligent consecration, and of the development of the missionary spirit and of the spirit of work, culminating in a praise meeting in which nearly all present made a vow to the Lord to step out on his promises, and to labor for souls faithfully in their appointed places. Every meeting was well attended, and the people responded cheerfully as calls to service were made, and the various phases of the work were presented. The ministering brethren, Prof. J. E. Tenney, A. F. Harrison, and the writer, felt refreshed as they labored, and the first two freely expressed their opinion that the meeting was one of the best, if not the very best, that they had ever attended. Delightful weather prevailed all through the meeting, and there was not a sick person on the grounds. With but three exceptions, all on the grounds gave unmistakable evidences of conversion. Wherever one might go, he could find persons thanking God for the privilege of being present, and the visiting spirit was scarcely noticeable. Surely the Lord visited his people, and the effect of the influence of the Spirit of God was visible upon all. Visitors were impressed, and there were some remarkable conversions. Owing, however, to a feud between the mill people, the citizens of Spartanburg, and the car company, the outside attendance was not large, though satisfactory on Sundays. The meeting was truly a season of refreshing18for all who attended, and it is hoped that it will mark the beginning of an era of prosperity for this neglected field. Elder E. W. Webster, the director, has looked forward for years to the time when South Carolina would be able to announce its first camp-meeting, and the gathering proved to be a season of inexpressible joy and comfort to him. He and his fellow laborers have deserved the success that has attended their faithful labors. There was a deep earnestness, both among the workers and among the people, and a seeking of God in the groves, in the tents, and in the pavilion, which brought the Spirit of God into the camp in power. The early morning meetings were solemn convocations, and the days were filled with practical instructions, so that the people went to their homes with a more intelligent comprehension of what the Lord required of them than they ever before possessed, and with the determination, born of a new hope and a broader view of the work to be accomplished, to labor for souls earnestly and faithfully as opportunities presented. Holding on to the arm of the Lord was made a practical reality, and the service of God a profession to be learned, and all felt drawn out to work as they never had before. Several asked that canvassers be invited to come to their homes, and also Bible workers from the North, to whom board was offered free of all charge. In some instances a horse was promised the workers for their use. All they ask is that the home conferences indorse these laborers as being reliable. To such, comfortable homes and generous treatment are assured. No conference business occupied the time, and nothing occurred to mar the peace and prosperity of the meeting. In every way South Carolina’s effort proved to be not only a grand success, spiritually and financially, but a priceless blessing to all attending. W. S. CHAPMAN.