p. 18 | The Texas General Camp-Meeting by George A. Irwin

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 20, 1906

The Texas General Camp-Meeting

By George A. Irwin

THIS meeting was held at Alvarado, August 2-12. Alvarado being only nine miles from Keene, where a large proportion of the conference membership reside, the attendance was larger than at any preceding meeting ever held in the State. The camp consisted of one hundred and thirty-seven family tents, five fifty-by-thirty-foot preaching tents partitioned off for family use, the whole containing a population of nine hundred and twenty-five. Adding to this a considerable number who roomed in dwellings near by, and those who came and remained but a day or two, the number in attendance, all told, would reach one thousand.

The camp was located at the outskirts of the town upon an elevated plot of land, a portion of which was covered with shade trees. The first Sunday there was a heavy rain, which caused the campers much inconvenience, and made the ground so wet inside the large preaching tent that no meeting was held in the afternoon or evening. The weather was exceedingly hot during the entire time, but it did not seem to affect the attendance nor interest in the services.

Elder Loughborough and the writer were the only general laborers from outside the conference. Elder Haskell and his wife were expected, but not feeling well when the time came for him to leave his home, he wrote canceling the engagement, fearing the excessive heat and fatigue of the journey might prostrate him entirely. The night services, consisting of a connected series of sermons upon the special message for this time, were conducted by the conference ministers and Professor Giddings, the religious liberty secretary of the union conference. Brother Loughborough gave one talk each day upon early experiences in the rise and progress of the third angel’s message. These talks were highly appreciated by the brethren, and will be productive of much good in confirming and establishing the faith of the people in the spirit of prophecy and work of Sister White, in these times of doubt and apostasy.

It was gratifying to note how the Lord strengthened his aged servant to deliver his message from day to day. The promise in the “song for the Sabbath day” came forcibly to my mind as I observed the clearness and power with which he spoke. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” Ps. 92:14, 15.

The various reports rendered during the conference sessions showed a healthy increase in all branches of the work. There was an increase of four thousand dollars in the amount of tithe paid. The canvassing work, under the leadership of Elder Eastman, has made a very marked gain. In the first seven months of 1906, the book sales amounted to four thousand dollars more than in the two preceding years combined, and the prospect is good that the same activity will be seen throughout the year, providing books can be supplied by our publishing houses to fill the orders taken.

Although a larger force of laborers was kept in the field last year than ever before, and one man was supported to labor in Arkansas, the conference paid five hundred dollars of past indebtedness, and had sufficient to pay all laborers up to date. Two hundred and thirty persons accepted the truth during the year, and were added to the membership of the conference. A vote was passed to raise a fund of one thousand dollars to purchase a new camp-meeting pavilion and some much-needed family tents; $815 of this amount was raised on the ground. Two hundred dollars was raised to assist in advancing the work among the Mexicans in the State.

Following a talk given by Brother Muck, the editor of our paper for the blind, a collection was taken which netted one hundred and forty-five dollars. One hundred and fifty-five dollars was pledged toward the equipment of a tent factory to be operated by the Board of the Keene Academy. The amount of Sabbath-school and First-day offerings was not announced, hence I am unable to give the exact amount in this report.

The few colored brethren in the conference had a place assigned them in the camp, and a tent pitched where special meetings were held once each day, in addition to the meetings held in the large pavilion, which they attended regularly. Twenty-four persons were baptized at the close of the meeting. Several others will be baptized in their home churches. Twelve persons were granted ministerial credentials, six ministerial license, and eleven were given missionary license, making a total working force of twenty-nine.

Elder Santee was unanimously re-elected president of the conference, and the following persons were associated with him to make up the executive committee: D. U. Hale, W. W. Eastman, T. W. Field, W. M. Cubley, C. W. Miller, and E. B. Hopkins. Judging from both the reports and appearances, I believe the Texas Conference is in better shape at this time than ever before in its history, to press the work to the very outskirts of this great State. The location of a good school, like the Keene Academy, in the State should prove a great blessing to the work in the education of the young people, providing the brethren do not make Keene a concentrating point to the detriment of small churches and companies out in the field that need their help. If the large number of people already collected at Keene who have no special business there other than to be associated with those of like faith, would scatter out into the destitute and needy portions of the State, and go to work for souls, it would not be long until the “lone star” State would become a strong and flourishing conference. That it may be so is the prayer of the writer. GEO. A. IRWIN.