The Camp-Meetings by James White

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 26, 1874

The Camp-Meetings.

By James White

THE season of camp-meetings has come. These have become important and exceedingly interesting meetings with Seventh-day Adventists. With our people they are a necessity. Our churches are scattered and small, and our people do not enjoy regular preaching. Our ministers do not locate. They “go into all the world, and preach the gospel,” and raise up new churches. Our people should appear before the Lord in general convocation at least once a year, to hear the gospel, to mingle their prayers and words of exhortation and songs of praise in God's great, natural temples.

We should be happy to meet old and new friends at these general meetings of thrilling interest. But more local duties on the Pacific Coast compel us to decline the invitations of the General Conference Committee.

God greatly blessed us in our efforts to establish the camp-meetings in the several State Conferences. And it would be comparatively an easy task to attend them to what it was before they were organized, when they were an experiment, held in doubt by many of our people.

But the wide field of labor is still opening, and there is no time to rest down here, and enjoy the fruits of our labors. We must press out into new fields, and with faith, hope, and courage in the Lord, battle for truth and victory until the work shall close.

God bless the General Conference Committee. The responsibility of the oversight of the camp-meetings rests upon them, and we trust they will have the hearty co-operation and support of all our people.

Their labors and cares at our camp-meetings are very great, and all true friends of the cause should regard it their duty to do all in their power to lighten their burdens, and encourage them in the work. The amount of labor which the Lord helps them to perform during the camp-meeting season is astonishing. But time and toil are telling upon them, as they have upon others. And while they are crowding two years into one, cheerfully, joyfully, in view of the great work to be done, and the reward to be given, let us, brethren, encourage them, and make their work as light as possible, by acting well the part assigned to each of us.

Turn out to the camp-meetings, brethren, far and near. Some write that more would attend if certain ones of the old hands would be present. This is all a mistake, brethren. Turn out, and get all others out you can. The Lord will meet with you by his Spirit. Your camp-meetings last year, under the supervision of Elders Butler and Haskell, were productive of more good than at any previous season. The Lord, the Lord of hosts, will meet with you. Let there be a general turnout to the camp-meetings.

Be earnest to be on the ground, and all ready to attend the first religious service held, and remain till the very last service is closed. Take your children with you, if possible, in expectation of seeing them converted. Induce all your friends you possibly can to spend a week on consecrated ground, to consider holy subjects. Let the camp-meetings this year be a success. God will help all who are anxious to help themselves.

J. W.