Wednesday, July 1, 2026

It is the 1st of July 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

It is summer, and so for many of us it is camp season. Church camp is, of course, a ubiquitous part of the American Christian landscape, and not a year goes by that I’m not asked about the history of church camp. I’ll preface this by saying: church camps are a distinctly American creation, and their history ties back to so much of what has made the church in America a distinct creature in church history.

 

I’ll give you three tributaries that make up the American church camp tradition- first, the muscular Christianity movement that gave us things like the YMCA, which was created out of a hope to get children out of the newly industrial centers and into nature for a season. Second, the Chautauqua tradition out of New York- the Sunday School-adjacent teaching camps that brought together the outdoors, the arts, and bible teaching. And then thirdly, the camp revival meeting that helped to kick off the Second Great Awakening- all of these can be placed in the 19th century- and there’s reason to believe that the first of these- the first modern “camp meeting” took place on this, the 1st of July in 1800. Other sources call for “early July,” and so we’ll feel comfortable telling the story of James McGready’s Red River Camp revival today.

 

McGready was born to Scotch-Irish Presbyterian immigrants to colonial Pennsylvania in the early 1760s. He showed an aptitude for theological studies and was trained under various pastors until he was licensed to preach by the Redstone Presbytery in 1788. He married and served in North Carolina before being sent to Logan County, Kentucky, to serve three congregations: Muddy River, Red River, and Gaspar River.

 

He inherited the idea of “Holy Fairs” from his Scottish forbears- there was a popular practice amongst some of those more pious Scots to hold days-long services- vigils of a sort- in preparation for the quarterly reception of the Lord’s Supper. These “Holy Fairs” from Thursday to Monday would involve self-examination, repentance, the reception of Communion on Sunday, and a day on Monday for Thanksgiving.

 

McGready, a fiery preacher known as “the son of thunder”, would hold similar Holy Fairs from 1799. As they became more popular, he began to wonder about a logistics issue- how could he feed all the people who had come to the services? He knew of one family that had come from far out and, not wanting to impose on any of the locals, decided to camp out for the 5 days. McGready began to spread the word that his congregations would facilitate campers coming from anywhere. And so, right around this day- early July in 1800 we have McGready’s record of “twenty to thirty wagons” from “thirty, forty, and even one hundred miles away” to camp out in Logan County. Word of these got out, and others began to hold similar camps. Those who had traveled far for camps encouraged local preachers to start their own. It was the beginning of the Second Great Awakening.

 

McGready would eventually publish his “Short Narrative of the Revival of Religion in Logan County” and tell the story of the massive number of converts and camps that began to dot the western frontier. The camps became popular destinations- blending Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists. As the need for more ministers grew, the licensing of preachers and exhorters became… well, some argued streamlined, and others argued it was rushed.

 

We are beginning to see the kind of interdenominational, DIY frontier church that would characterize the century and much of the American church. These camps, begun by McGreay and popularized in his book, attracted the likes of Barton Stone, William Hodge, and those who would be called the “Cumberland Presbyterians”. From this we would get the “New Lights”, the Restorationist movement and the Disciples of Christ, specifically.

 

The “Second Great Awakening” was on- the distinctive “camp” environment (though taken from the Scottish tradition) would become part of American protestant culture. Just as the United States of America was creating a new social and political identity, so too would it with this first camp, a theological and sociological identity still seen in the thousands and thousands of camps operating today. Today we remember James McGready and his invitation to come camp out in Logan County in early July of 1800.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a prophecy from Isaiah 51:

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
 and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
 and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

2 look to Abraham, your father,
 and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
 and I blessed him and made him many.

3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion
 and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
 her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
 thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of July 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who used to spend his summers following the Power Team… muscular Christianity at its finest- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who still thinks it's funny he spent a few summers at “Calvin Crest”… see what they did there? I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.