On Sunday, May 17, the Fort Jesup Camp Meeting, situated in Sabine Parish, commemorated 125 years of Holiness emphasis in the region.
The event featured a packed tabernacle, an inspirational message by Dr. David Busic, General Superintendent, accompanied by historical insights and connections provided by Dr. Keith Newman, President of Southern Nazarene University, and Pastor Daniel Lowe, representing six generations of involvement in the life of Fort Jesup Camp. These festivities occurred within the historic R.T. Williams Memorial Tabernacle.
Established in 1901 by the Sabine Parish Holiness Association, Fort Jesup Camp Meeting subsequently affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene under Dr. R.T. Williams’ leadership. The camp’s location is in close proximity to Dr. R.T. Williams’ childhood home, with some of his relatives attended the celebration.
Camp Meetings are an American Christian tradition, with protestant religious services featuring multi-day evangelical preaching, prayer, and communal living trace their origins to the frontier in the late 1700s and early 1800s. They provided a way for isolated communities to experience worship, socialize, and foster spiritual revival. Back then, attendees traveled significant distances and stayed on-site for several days in tents or wagons. They’d hear fervent preaching, sing hymns, attend prayer meetings, and get baptized while in attendance.
Outside of the religious element upon which they’re founded, the meetings served as important community hubs where settlers could trade, socialize, or even celebrate a wedding.
A notable highlight was establishing a future connection with Southern Nazarene University, as Rhett Ammons from Friendship Church, a fourth-generation attendee of Fort Jesup, facilitated the collection of soil from in front of the R.T. Williams Tabernacle for incorporation into the rammed earth wall of the Gresham Prayer Chapel being constructed on the SNU campus.