Ever since the institution of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament, God has been calling his people to set aside a week each year to “camp” in temporary dwellings – for the Jews it was to commemorate the 40 years of desert wandering – for Christians it is an opportunity for spiritual renewal and refreshing.
The bible camp formula is quite simple:
- Get people away from their routine actives, and the pressures of everyday life
- Create a positive environment with good food and good fellowship
- Create a spiritual atmosphere through worship
- Preach the Word of God
- Lift up the Name of Jesus
- Encourage people to yield to the Holy Spirit
Then watch as a people are saved, healed, delivered, renewed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit!
For me, bible camps have been places where I have grown spiritually and where I have had profound encounters with the Holy Spirit. The same has been true for my children and now my grandchildren.
It is my prayer that all of the bible camps across our Fellowship will thrive and that every person who attends will experience spiritual renewal and refreshing.
Wes Mills
President of ACOP
I am sure that you would agree that the dedication and love that goes into each camp or VBS is much-needed and worthy of your support through prayer.
Most of us have had valuable camp experiences and we invite you to share your camp memory in the comments. It does not matter which camp you attended—if you are a life-long camper or a one-and-done camper we’d love to hear from you.
See you in the comments!
4 replies on “Full Gospel Bible Camps”
From 1999-2006 I had the privilege of directing children’s camps at Moose Lake Gospel Camp. This was always a highlight of my summer knowing that there was an opportunity to mentor young counsellors as well as minister to kids. Several of the kids who would come were not from Christian homes and in some cases homes that were unsafe physically, mentally, and emotionally. In some of my conversations with the children who attended camp over the years, they mentioned that Moose Lake was one of the safest places for them, it was a place they looked forward too all year long. It was a place to have fun, a place to hear about Jesus, a place to experience the Holy Spirit, it was a place where they could get a good night’s rest with assurance of being safe. I saw God move in powerful ways, He touched lives, He healed hearts, He shared His hope and His plans with these young lives. Personally, I don’t know who was touched in a greater way, the kids or myself but this I know, I went home knowing that lives had been changed and God’s plans put in motion.
I was there in 1952 with Art Sheppard !!!!
Dalton Powers was the A M speaker !!
McRae was the afternoon speaker.McRae’s topic was on Samson
and the Jawbone of a donkey & his victory with it, 1000 philistines
killed. “ENHAKKORE” He worked that topic pretty good !!!
If I remember right, Art preached P M on “THINGS MOST SURELY
BELIEVED AMONG US” Which he published in a booklet.
Them’s was the days !!! I think Dalton Powers topic was, “THE SEVEN
LAST WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS” !!! I was young & impressionable !!!
John Hartman.
Summer 2010 Jasmin and I had the opportunity to speak at kedlstone Camp for jr teen. It was encouraging to see the young kids not only commit to make Jesus their saviour but to rush up to the front to commit to a life of radical sacrificial service to King Jesus. Often times we think we have to shine up the gospel and make it look more appealing to the younger generation. However the Holy Spirit calls young and old to serve Him. Camp has always had a special place in my life growing up and I am happy I can continue to serve the new generation of campers.
I was almost born under pews at Trossachs Gospel camp (I born in August). In those days Trossachs (15 miles west of Weyburn SK) was packed out on the weekends but we still had a good camp with good evening services as many like my father would leave us as a family at the camp during the week and he would get up early in the morning and drive home to farm(20 miles away), summerfallow, look after the cattle and then return in time for the 8 pm evening service. On the grounds at Family camp we always had three services every day, great meals, and swimming in the CPR dam about 5 miles away in the afternoon and a good base ball game after supper. The evening service was always great – it was there I got the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It happened about 11:20-11:30 pm during the altar service and what a moment in my life that was. I’d received an almost tongues in March when Billy Schuetz (Bro Lloyd’s brother) was ministering in Bethel Assembly in Pangman for a week but that night at camp was the real thing which I tap into and drink from daily still today as I serve the Lord in missions ministry. I was 13 then, I’m 73 now. Praise GOD FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKING IN HIS CHURCH TODAY! WOW! Back then Trossachs had 2 weeks of family camp, a week for youth camp and a week of children’s camp as well. Somewhere at Trossachs Camp I’m sure I felt God’s call to ministry though I was a shy guy but I went to FGBI in Eston for 3 years, Matured, married and over 50 years later I’m still in the ministry because of getting away and getting into god’s presence and letting God speak to my life like He still does today. Influenced? Yes, by faithful men of God like GS Mclean, Lorne Pritchard, GOB Killam, MV Brown, AD Marshall, AH Gillett, and many more- perhaps names of men of yester year but they ministered faithfully God’s word under His anointing and many many lives were changed for eternity. But then the same thing had happened years before that – my mom received here baptism at the famous “Bridge Party” that happened well after midnight, well after a prolonged altar service when a group of girls went to the “booth” for hot chocolate and on the way back across the bridge over the creek, the Holy Spirit fell on them. They made so much racket talking in tongues and filled with the joy of the Lord out there that they woke some of the men in the men’s dorm and among those men was my future dad who came and was touched by the Lord – it changed his life, took him overseas to WWII, brought him back and on a visit to FGBI that winter in 1946, he got his baptism one cold night and he too spoke in tongues – even to the end of his life. GOD LOVES TO WORK AT CAMPS.
I did 2 summers working also as a Bible school student at Springside, Moose Lake, went many went times too, to Kedelstone, Crescent Beach and Veteran camps – GOD LOVES CAMP TIME WHEN WE TAKE TIME OUT TO MEET HIM and the greater family of God that also want to meet together for a few days each year in Jesus Name. David Sheppard, ACOP missionary in Puebla Mexico since 1975.