Camp History

The first Adventist summer camp was held 100 years ago – in 1925! It started Down Under in Victoria, Australia. The idea caught on and Adventist camps soon started all over America and Canada – in Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and on and on.

If you have enjoyed Adventist summer camp, you’ll love this commemorative issue of Guide magazine.

Summer campers have always come home with new Camp Songs that they learned while spending a week at camp. Many of the camp songs were written and developed by Summer Camp Staff and have lasted for generations. Other camp songs were renditions of hymns and praise songs with hand motions and expressions that morphed over time being developed differently at camps throughout North America. Here is a list of 255 Summer Camp Songs that have been collected from Adventist Camps around the North American Division.

Churches may want to celebrate 100 years of what God has done through the Camp Ministry that takes place at their conference’s summer camp each year. The Camp Ministry Sabbath – A Planning Template is full of ideas for planning a special worship experience for your church. Some churches may choose to have a short emphasis between Sabbath School and the Worship Service while others will do more, even choosing to make it a weekend experience at their camp. The choice is yours.