Worshipers at the first
Wimauma tabernacle gather
for camp meeting.
WORDS ON
THE WALL
As I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s,
May 21, 1914, was the date of the first their souls.” In those early years, Zeno
service at the new campground in Tharp used a mule team to transport pas-
camp-meeting services in Wimauma,
Wimauma. The mood of that service was sengers and baggage from the railroad
Florida, left me with unforgettable
tempered by the loss of R.E. Ransome, a stop less than a mile away for the cost of
sounds, sights, and feelings.
deacon in the church. Ransome had been 25 cents per person.
On the front walls of the massive
working to prepare the campground for Over the years the Wimauma camp-
open-air tabernacle, on either side of the
service that morning when he fell ill, ground has seen four different tabernacles
platform and choir loft, Bible verses were
returned home, and died unexpectedly. constructed, beginning with that modest
painted in massive black and red letters
An article in the Evangel recounted, shelter and progressing to the massive air-
(with Jesus’ words in red, of course). One
“Hearts were softened as we drew near to conditioned, stucco auditorium of today.
was John 3:3: “Except a man be born
God with a thought of one of our num- The grounds are no longer covered with
again, he cannot see the kingdom of
ber having gone so quickly to heaven as a people camping in tents or makeshift
God.” When the evangelist began
representative from the first camp meet- shelters. Now there are a few people who
preaching hard and loud, warning that
ing on the new campground.” stay in cabins, motorhomes, and dormi-
Jesus was coming again, and conviction
On Sunday, May 25, the grounds and tories, but most stay in the nearby hotels.
began falling on the congregation, how
tabernacle were officially dedicated as Gone are the baptismal services in Lake
could anyone not turn to God?
General Overseer Tomlinson led the cere- Wimauma, the snow-cone stand, and
Another verse on the wall asked,
mony. Tomlinson said the service was a convention books. But 100 years later, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
“spiritual feast and great time of blessing. people from all over Florida and beyond believed?” (Acts 19:2). People would pray
. . . The glory of the Lord filled the place.” still come together for a week of great long and hard to be baptized in the Spirit,
The campground’s development came singing, anointed preaching, consecrated with plenty of people willing to pray with
quickly as by the next year it was adver- prayer, and Church of God fellowship them, and many did receive.
tised that a women’s dormitory was avail- reminiscent of an Old Testament feast. Smart camp-meeting attendees
able. A restaurant was also added, pro- It’s camp-meeting time in Florida!
brought comfortable lawn chairs (much
moting “hope everybody in reach will
better than the campground’s metal chairs
take advantage of the spiritual feast that Jerry J. Jeter is senior pastor of the RiverLife
for those three-hour services), which they
will be spread and attend and grow fat in Church of God in Bradenton, Florida.
would set up just outside the tabernacle,
along with mosquito repellent, a hand fan,
The Florida Worship
and an umbrella just in case. We teenagers
Center, where camp
would sit on car bumpers, sometimes tak-
meeting services are
ing a stroll to see who else was there or to
held today. buy a snow cone.
The greatest part of camp meeting for
me was the realization that I was part of a
movement that was much bigger than the
two dozen kids in our church’s youth
group or the 200 people in our congrega-
tion. There were thousands of people in
Florida who believed and worshiped like
we did, they were fervent about it, and we
should feel the same. —Lance Colkmire
EVANGEL • JUNE 2009 23
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