Carolina Camp Meeting

Set against the peaceful beauty of Lake Junaluska, Camp Meeting 2025 was more than a physical rest. It was a sacred encounter with “Hope Beyond Tomorrow.” Thousands gathered for a week of worship, spiritual revival, and meaningful community.

In a world marked by stress, busyness, and uncertainty, Carolina Camp Meeting 2025 offered something extraordinary: a vacation for the soul. Set against the serene backdrop of Lake Junaluska, this year’s gathering brought together thousands of believers from across the Carolinas for a full week of worship, renewal, and family connection. More than just a spiritual event, Camp Meeting became, for many, a transformational experience of joy, rest, and recommitment.

With the theme Hope Beyond Tomorrow, the May 23 to 31 event followed a year of rebuilding after Hurricane Helene damaged the grounds. The restored beauty of the campus served as a living metaphor for God’s redemptive power, reminding all in attendance that storms may come, but hope in Christ endures.

Throughout the week, attendees enjoyed the best of both vacation and revival: morning strolls by the lake, refreshing worship services, fellowship over crepes and slushies, and the peaceful rhythms of time away from daily routines. For families, individuals, retirees, and young people, Camp Meeting 2025 proved to be the kind of getaway that doesn’t just entertain...it transforms.

Powerful Messages, Deeper Purpose

Each day began with early morning prayer walks around the lake and quiet reflection at the Stone Chapel. Mornings and evenings in Stuart Auditorium were filled with powerful preaching. Shawn Boonstra closed the week with compelling messages on redemption. Pastor Jerry Page, former Ministerial Secretary of the General Conference, led the evening meetings from Sunday through Thursday, calling believers to a deeper life of surrender, mission, and joy in Christ. Mornings featured scholarly yet spirit-filled presentations from Dr. Roy Gane, who brought clarity to Scripture.

Seminars throughout the day offered practical tools for Christian living. Rick and Cindy Mercer’s testimony of marital restoration and intercessory prayer stirred hearts and inspired conversations. Brad Cauley addressed tough cultural questions with logic and biblical conviction, equipping attendees to defend their faith in today’s world. Health sessions with Dr. Roman Pawlak helped dispel common dietary myths, encouraging participants to steward their bodies for God’s glory.

Something for Every Age

Camp Meeting felt like a vacation designed with the entire family in mind. From cradle roll to collegiate, every age group found meaningful programming, hands-on activities, and space to grow spiritually. In the children’s divisions, Beginners entered a throne room experience, Kindergartners explored “Castles and Crowns,” and Primary children learned Bible stories through songs and crafts.

Junior and Earliteen groups were immersed in outdoor fun, worship, and Bible study, while youth enjoyed adventure and spiritual challenge. Many teens took on the adventure of rafting the Nantahala River. Young adults attended small group devotionals, participated in their own rafting trip, and shared testimonies of transformation through prayer and connection.

Fun That Matters

One of the most beloved traditions, the Run4Life 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, kicked off Friday morning with laughter, competition, and purpose. Aidan Kimbrl took first in the 5K with a time of 19:21, and Matthew Wickham won the 1-Mile. Yet the message of the event went far beyond finish lines. As shared in the devotional message that followed, we are all running the race of faith (Hebrews 12:1–2), and the reward is not for the fastest, but for those who endure with Jesus.

Other moments of joy included the Bluegrass Sing-Along, the Sabbath concert by Matt and Josie Minikus, and shared moments at the MPA tent. Children joyfully contributed to the Maranatha $10 Church offering project, discovering that even their spare change could help build a church on the other side of the world.

Rest, Reconnection, and Renewal

Throughout Harrell Center, attendees visited booths representing ministries from across the conference. Literature Evangelism, Women’s Ministries, Pathway to Health, and many others shared opportunities for service and growth. Informal conversations turned into prayer circles. Booth visits became mission commitments. And beneath every handshake and smile was the presence of the Holy Spirit, gently inviting each heart to live with eternal purpose.

Friday evening’s Anointing Service provided a sacred space for healing. For many, this was the most profound moment of the week, a time to lay burdens down and invite Christ’s restoring touch. As tears fell and prayers rose, hearts were mended and faith renewed.

On Sabbath afternoon, the campgrounds pulsed with celebration. Beth Grissom, director of Women’s and Prayer Ministries for the Carolina Conference, was officially commissioned as a minister (see p. 7). Children marched proudly in the Pathfinder and Adventurer Parade, and music echoed from Stuart Auditorium to the lakeside trails.

A Getaway That Changes Everything

Camp Meeting 2025 was more than a week of rest and inspiration. It was a spiritual milestone. It was laughter over lemonade, healing during hymns, mission calls in quiet corners, and lifelong memories made around every picnic blanket.

As the sun set on Lake Junaluska and families packed up to return home, one truth remained clear: this wasn’t just a vacation. It was a divine appointment. An invitation to let go of fear, to embrace hope, and to live with “Hope Beyond Tomorrow,” anchored in Jesus.

As the theme reminded us each day, our hope is not in this world, but in the One who is coming again.

—Benjamin Lawson, Mauricio Schiavenin, Esmeralda Paulino, Rebecca Carpenter