The Littlest Big Camp
It was 1898 and the Adventist Church in Queensland was adamant about running their very first camp meeting. A camp meeting who’s influence on the community would later be described by Ellen White as “exceed[ing] that of any other camp meeting that has been held”,* yet in the lead up the small organising committee would face seemingly insurmountable challenges.
You can’t run a camp without a venue. The committee had a place in mind but had to settle on an inferior location in the opposite direction. Then came the challenge of filling the venue with people—there was concern that the crowd needed to be “large enough to make the meeting appear like a camp meeting.” The committee was convinced that if they had enough large tents and campers then community people would be naturally drawn to the spectacle. But with only 175 Sabbath keepers scattered all over the expansive Queensland colony, securing this type of “crowd” was not going to be easy.
What good is a crowd though, if you don’t have any tents, chairs or a pulpit? Challenge number three was cashflow: “The treasurer was not able to send those managing the meeting a single pound before the meeting began” and it wasn’t until two to three days before the opening that they were able to do any advertising. The organisers “put their own personal money in where it was needed and borrowed from their friends.” Forty-eight hours before they were due to start the Brisbane tramway company agreed to run ads for the meeting on all their trams, free of charge.
God continued to bless the efforts of these faithful believers when hundreds from the city of Brisbane were in attendance for the opening night. The keynote speaker, Ellen White, was described as speaking with “all the freedom, power and endurance of 25 years ago!” and by the end of the meetings it was estimated that nearly 1500 people were present. So great was the response that a team of 12 Bible workers stayed behind to follow up the contacts.
We serve a God of unlimited resources. Challenges arise that can feel insurmountable, it’s easy to get discouraged and find the way forward almost impossible. The same God that was faithful back in 1898 continues to be faithful now.
*Quotes are from Union Conference Record, October 15, 1898.
Verse of the day:
“For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation,” Psalm 100:5 (NLT).
