Camp Meeting Association Celebrates 142 Years

The Camp Meeting Association in Ocean Grove is in the midst of its 142nd Annual Camp Meeting Week, a time of celebrating the camps anniversary.

The 10 day long event began on the Camp Meeting Association’s founders day -- Friday, July 29. The celebration which includes events for spiritual birth, growth and renewal will conclude on Sunday, August 7.

Founded in 1869, the Camp Meeting Association has been “God’s Square Mile at the Jersey Shore.”

“The founders were from the big cities -- New York City, Philadelphia and Newark. They were looking for a place that people would want to go to get rejuvenated in their place with the Lord, so they set on a journey to establish what they called a Camp Meeting -- a place where they would set up camp, pitch tents and hold revival meetings,” said Camp Meeting Association (CMA) Administrative Officer, Scott Hoffman.

The tents are still on the grounds in Ocean Grove as reminders of the heritage and how the camp started.

“People rent them for the summer -- supporters of the camp. Some have been in the families for four or five generations,” said Hoffman.

On July 31 in 1869, CMA held its first prayer meeting and prayed to set aside the land to worship Jesus.

“This is why we have Camp Meeting Week,” said Hoffman.

Two key figures in starting Camp Meeting Week were Reverend Thornley and Ellwood Stokes.

“It was in their tent where the first meeting was. In January 1870 they went to the state legislature and got a charter set aside in Ocean Grove for the perpetual worship of Jesus Chris. The charter is still in effect. The Camp Meeting Association owns all of the land in Ocean Grove. Anyone that buys a house on it just owns the house and leases the land from the town. We also operate the beach and boardwalk and have up to 1,000 feet of rights into the water,” said Hoffman.

At just about 9 a.m. on a bright, warm, Tuesday morning in Ocean Grove, guests piled into Bishop James Tabernacle on Ocean Pathway for the morning Prayer Session with Reverend Paul Lawler. The session began with singing of songs to music of an on site pianist. Most of the songs were mainly written by mission worker and hymn writer, Fanny Crosby in the 1800s. After, Lawler broke down a scripture of Matthew on mercy from the bible.

“Fanny Crosby spent a lot of her summers here on Ocean Grove Pathway. She was a hymn writer who was completely blind and wrote 8,000 to 9,000 hymns,” said Hoffman.

Later on in the evening, the community got together again for a revival meeting under the Ocean Grove Pavilion on the boardwalk at Ocean Avenue and Ocean Pathway. Reverend Tommy Miles of Macedonia Baptist Church in Neptune City spoke about Faith.

“Faith - you either have none, a little, or a whole lot,” preached Miles.

“You are all here today because someone was praying for you to be here. There are no mistakes,” added Miles.

The community cheered and clapped. Like many of the events held by CMA this week and throughout the year, this event provided attendees with a chance to renew themselves through the word of the Lord. The band -- the Ocean Grove Praise Team, entertained with song.

Two popular events as the week ends will be the Walks Through the Bible. On Thursday, August 4, Walk Through the Bible of the Old Testament will be held and on Friday, August 5 there will be Walk Through the Bible of the New Testament. Both events will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Tabernacle and cost $20 per person, per day.

The rest of the schedule for Camp Meeting Week is as follows:

Thursday, August 4

6:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer at Thornley Chapel

9:00 a.m. - Riptide and Breakfast Club at Thornley Chapel

9:00 a.m. - Morning Session #1 with Reverend Paul Lawler at the Tabernacle

7:30 p.m. - Teen Show at the Youth Temple

7:30 p.m. - Summer Stars Finale at the Auditorium

Friday, August 5

6:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer at Thornley Chapel

9:00 a.m. - Riptide and Breakfast Club at Thornley Chapel

9:00 a.m. - Morning Session #1 with Reverend Paul Lawler at the Tabernacle

7:30 p.m. - Teen Show at the Youth Temple

Saturday, August 6

6:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer at the Tabernacle

9:00 a.m. - Morning Session with Reverend Paul Lawler at the Tabernacle

12:00 p.m. - Organ Recital with critically acclaimed concert organist, Gordon Turk at the Auditorium

8:00 p.m. - Six time Emmy winner, comedian and actor - Tim Conway and Friends at the Auditorium

Sunday, August 7

6:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer at Thornley Chapel

9:00 a.m. - Pavilion Praise on the Boardwalk at the Ocean Grove Boardwalk Pavilion

9:00 a.m. - Communion Worship at the Tabernacle

10:30 a.m. - Camp Meeting Worship with Reverend Dr. Zan Holmes at the Auditorium

3:30 p.m. -  Songs of Faith at the Auditorium

7:30 p.m. - The Current (Youth Worship) at the Tabernacle

7:30 p.m. - Communion Worship and Close of Camp Meeting with Reverend Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas and Reverend Dr. Zan Holmes - Opening Hymn Sing led by Lew and Faith Daniels at Auditorium

Many events are free to attend. More information can be found at www.oceangrove.org.