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The Camp Meeting Movement

The Camp Meeting Movement began during the Great Awakening. Although not all scholars agree, the argument made by Dr. Kenneth Brown is compelling. He says the original camp meetings were conducted by Methodists in the Carolinas in 1786 and in 1787. After the overwhelming success of the Cane Ridge Revival and camp meeting in Kentucky in 1800 and the work of Bishop Francis Asbury who preached to 1.5 million people in camp meetings in the year 1811 (about 10% of America’s population), the Camp Meeting Movement became overwhelming. There are in America (none in New Jersey) 80 camp meetings in existence today that predate the Civil War and all but 3 are Methodist. After the Civil War numerous new camp meetings were formed. Ocean Grove, according to Dr. Brown, was the nation’s first Holiness camp meeting and Phoebe Palmer (d. 1874) attended camp meeting before her death.

In 1997 there were 42 camp meetings of various denominations in New Jersey. There were perhaps 125 or more in the 19th Century. A strong plurality were and are Methodist. Other than Ocean Grove, the most famous camp meetings in New Jersey were all Methodist – Pittman, Mt. Tabor and Ocean City. Ocean Grove is the largest camp meeting in New Jersey and is part of the nationwide Chautauqua association of camp meetings which emphasize both evangelism and education.