What is a Camp Meeting? Camp Meeting is a uniquely American institution, and from the earliest days of our nation it has been a vital tool for the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The first Camp meeting identified as such was in 1797 and was held by Presbyterian and Methodist ministers in upstate New York. By the early part of the 19th Century, Camp Meetings had become a fixture of Rural America in the Northeast, Midwest and on the American Frontier. As the summer harvest was completed and the crops "laid by," families would get together and build "brush arbors," where they would hold Christian meetings, sing and catch up on the latest news with each other's families. This is the tradition from which the modern Camp Meeting has come. Far from being a dried relic of the past, Camp Meetings still provide the opportunity for many people to hear the message of Salvation and Scriptural Holiness. While some meetings have abandoned the arbor for the comfort of the air-contidioned auditorium, millions of people still brave the heat and insects to spend special time with their Lord and with their Christian brothers and sisters at Camp Meeting. For a visual experience of Camp Meeting, as well as good singing and even a laugh or two, check out the video DOWN BY THE TABERNACLE available from Bill Gaither Publishing.