For nearly 200 years people have been coming from all over to join together in praise and worship at Pine Log Camp Meeting. Before there were church buildings on every street, early settlers would gather their crops after the harvest and, out of spiritual necessity, they would head to camp meeting. Families would set up tents and a circuit rider would come on horseback to teach and preach the gospel. The preacher would be cared for by the hospitality of those attending, before departing for the next ministry destination.
While the traditional circuit rider is no longer a necessity, preachers still travel from afar to share the gospel here at Pine Log. Although contemporary times present an abundance of options with regard to how people encounter God, Camp Meeting continues to be a thriving and vital form of worship. This age-old tradition is not an empty ritual, but serves as a powerful and transcendent opportunity to connect with the God of all creation on a deeper level.
In his journal, Francis Asbury frequently writes about attending and preaching at camp meetings. In a letter to a Methodist preacher dated December 2, 1802, Francis Asbury writes, "I wish you would also hold campmeetings; they have never been tried without success. To collect such a number of God's people together to pray, and the ministers to preach, and the longer they stay, generally, the better." He then concludes with a reference to Matthew 4:19, "This is fishing with a large net" (p. 477).