Check this page frequently for activities, ministries and information about Indian Springs Camp Meeting!
Summary of Articles
General News
- Sign-Up for E-Mail Newsletters!
- Online Giving Now Available
- See 2012 Speakers
- See Winter 2011 Circuit Rider
Ladies' Fellowship:
Keeping in Touch with Camp Meeting
- Please Visit Us!
- Mission Trip to Honduras
- Glenn Tabernacle Expansion
- Explaining our Camp Meeting Budget
- Camp Meeting Perspective from Sam Walton
- Butts County Honors Indian Springs
- 5K Run for Missions
- Golf Cart Rental Reminder
- Holiness Camp Meeting Directory
Cottage Holders News
5K Run for Missions
Saturuday, July 14 8:10 - 9:20 am
Download Race Registration & Release Forms
Everyone is encouraged to join the fun no matter what your running or walking 'style' is! Runners and Walkers represent a variety of athletic abilities including pushing baby carriages!
You may sponsor a Runner/Walker to run/walk on your behalf! All Runners/Walkers need to sign Race Release Forms (above).
Registration Fee: Until June15th - $20; After June 15th - $25
Run Divisions: Male, Femai & Child Under 12
Questions: Contact Kevin Thompson at jamkevthompson@yahoo.com
Golf Cart Rental REminder! It's up to you...
...to coordinate the rental and delivery of golf carts to the camp ground for your use.
The Board of Trustees reminds everyone that Georgia law mandates only licensed individuals may drive golf carts on our grounds. It is necessary to register your golf cart in the Business Office. Please keep our camp ground safe!
For your convenience:
Jenco Golf Cart: (770) 775-6767 at www.JencoGolfCart.com
Georgia Golf Cart: (229) 942-2885 email gagolfcart@bellsouth.net
Our 2012 Camp Meeting will include programs for everyone and every age! Indian Springs is known for its enriching ministries which provide a foundation for living for all generations.
We welcome visitors from the various local communities and encourage you to visit this year!
Mission Team Returns from Honduras
Team Leaders: Rob Roy MacGregor and Rhonda Holton
Team Members: Jewel MacGregor, Bill & Candi Brummer, Damaris Lane, Joe Peterson and Marcus Borders.
Serving with WGM Missionaries in Honduras: Larry & Angie Overholt www.wgm.org www.cholutecaministries.blogspot.com
Thru combined efforts from WGM and Indian Springs Camp Meeting, a mission team of eight traveled to Honduras in February to work with Angie and Larry Overholt in Choluteca, Honduras. While the main purpose of the trip was to build a home for a Honduran family, the team participated in purchasing bicycles for school children, worshipping and witnessing at community churches and honoring nurses who
serve in the local areas.
The mission team was blessed spiritually through daily team devotionals. They considered it a privilege to serve along the sides of the Overholts and other Honduran workers involved in ministry.
Building Projects: The primary goal of the trip was to build a cement house for the Maldonados family of six. Their existing house of dried mud and sticks near the Choluteca River often flooded. Vidal and Socorro, and their four children assisted the Indian Springs team.
Enduring temperature of 100 degrees, the team finished nine rows of concrete block walls in six days. The roof and cement floor will be completed by the church members. Contributions from a team member provided the special opportunity to purchase beds, mattresses, hammocks and chairs for the new home.
While the team was visiting and ministering in the village of “7 de Mayo”, they discovered a woman with small children who had a home without a roof. Thanks for a financial gift for the materials, the team put a roof on the home.
Bikes for Kids: Prior to the trip, Angie Overholt had asked the team to pray about bicycles for kids who had no means of transportation to middle school. The distance to the new school is five miles of rocks and washed out roads. No transportation means that the kids would probably drop out of school. The request was for 5-6 bikes but Jesus sent monies for 14 bicycles!
Community Worship & Celebration: Over two weekends, the team visited four community churches building relationships with many and sharing the love of Christ. While there, they joined a visit to the fishing village of Monjaras to inquire about beginning a church. The response was extremely positive and the planning process has begun for this church plant.
The team joined in the 4th anniversary of the Shalom Church that had grown from 35 members to 142. Celebration was observed with cupcakes, craft classes and Christian worship. The ladies also baked dozens of cookies for a team of forty nurses who provide medical care to the surrounding villages.
Lizzie Project Scholarships: Last year at the Spring Ladies Fellowship Bible Study, the “Lizzie Project” was announced. Fifty dollars will pay the annual tuition with books and uniform for one child. Because of Indian Springs’ generosity, thirteen children will either begin school or continue their education.
Frogs of FaithJacob Easley knew he had started a good thing when Indian Springs Evangelist Dr. Tom Atkins mentioned his efforts to raise money for missions in the Main Tabernacle. Each year Jacob and his friends enjoy canvassing the campground on their official "frog hunts."
One frog-hunting night was particularly successful in producing a box of approximately 25 frogs. Jacob’s younger brother, Ben, suggested they turn their expertise into a fundraising effort for missions. Jacob and Ben soon discovered that not many people shared their enthusiasm for buying frogs.
A couple of older folks gave Jacob a dollar for him to release a frog in their name. Jacob quickly adapted his sales strategy to be two-fold: Look-at-a-Frog and Release-a-Frog. He knew this approach was gaining momentum when a multi-aged crowd gathered around the frog box, checking out the little jumpers. Kids were thrilled as Jacob liberated a few frogs in a mud puddle and they swam around, entertaining the group.
As he wandered the campgrounds, a random person he had never met would say, "Let me look at your frogs”. Jacob was discussing selling frogs in the Bookstore with Darrel McGinnis, the Bookstore Manager, when Mrs. McGinnis promptly stopped that discussion! His final take was $15 which aided the ‘Tweens missions offering.
Developing a heart for missions is just one spiritual benefit our children receive during camp meeting. Other youngsters at the Glenn Tabernacle and ‘Tweens Tabernacle created different sources of revenue: selling lemonade and ice water; having yard sales; making crafts, jewelry, and hair bows; raking leaves and walking dogs.
Leslie Marie Easley, mom of Jacob and Ben as well as a Glenn Worker, shared her impressions of the group. "I was impressed by the hard work and effort, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the joy the kids experienced when they raised money themselves to give for God's work!”
Glenn Tabernacle Expansion
Accomodates Mistry's Growth
Q:What is the best problem a ministry can have?
A:More attendees than their facility can accommodate!
The interactive ministry that is the trademark at the Glenn Tabernacle involves learning through play, creative arts and acting out stories. Over the past few years, the porches and activity areas have outgrown the space available.
Averaging almost 100 kids each day, the program utilizes the ‘rotation system’, moving children from three different learning stations throughout the morning. Areas accommodating 15-18 kids in years past were seriously cramped now that the groups average 25-30 kids.
However, the porch side has been expanded this spring from approximately 360 sq. feet to over 1,000 sq. feet – almost tripling the available space!
When Bryan Easley, Children’s Ministry Team Leader, saw the almost-finished porches, he was in awe:
“Wow! The porch expansion exceeded our expectations and will allow us to make changes to our daily program due to lack of space. Our biggest crunch on space has been in the stations where we do Bible stories and creative arts……. Our teaching resources, time and space will be more productive now. The long term result will make the Glenn Team more effective in engaging the kids in living a great life with Jesus!”
When finished, the expanded porch will have lights, fans and rails. Chair of the Children’s Ministry, Mrs. Joy Griffin commented on the Glenn expansion:
“We praise God for Winky and Vaughan using their skill to construct such a marvelous space for our children to learn about God’s Word, Jesus’ love for them and the whole world, and our Indian Springs heritage. We invite everyone to visit the Glenn Tabernacle and see this latest addition. It will continue to make an eternally significant impact!”
Putting the Pieces Together
Explaining our Camp Meeting Budget
Two ways to give:
- Secure Online Giving
- Mail Your Donation: Indian Springs Treasurer, P.O. Box 1742, Mableton, GA 30126
The annual budget of Indian Springs is $300,000 or approximately $25,000 a month. This may come as a surprise to many because in years past, the only budget mentioned related to the operational costs of the campground during the actual ten days of camp.
| FISCAL YEAR 2012 | CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS 2012 |
|---|---|
| Annual Budget: $300,000 ($25,000/monthly) | Pending Capital Improvements for 2012: |
| • Includes infrastructure additions and maintenance, insurance, utilities, repair, security and salaries. | Main Tabernacle Bench Renovation.......... $9,000 Repair the Pittman Building..................... $1,000 Repair the AC for the Cafeteria............... $2,000 Kitchen Annual Maintenance.................... $ 800/yr. |
| • Includes cost of running camp meeting, salaries, food & lodging for all ministry workers | Other Upcoming Projects: Re-roofing Mathews Memorial & Burden Building; repair of Caretaker’s Cottage and street repair. |
Our annual budget accounts for infrastructure additions, maintenance, utilities, repairs, security and salaries. It also includes the cost of operations during the ten days of camp meeting, plus the salaries, food and lodging for all workers involved.
This budget does not include capital improvements which are needed for repair and renovation projects. Funds for capital improvements may come from donations, special memorials and/or the Annual Budget.
Your faithfulness in giving throughout the year is vital to the on-going ministry and function of Indian Springs. However, monthly contributions greatly ease our cash flow.
Camp Meeting Perspective
Insights from Sam Walton
Three years ago, Sam Walton, a resident from Joelton, TN, began attending Indian Springs after a 25 year hiatus. He had experienced Indian Springs through his Fort Valley youth group many years prior. During a 2007 Men’s Retreat at his church, he met Dr. Tom Atkins, an Indian Springs evangelist, who shared Sam’s bond with camp meeting.
There was a sense of being ‘back home’ when Sam realized that the many familiar names on the cabins were indeed people he had known in the past. He found the friendliness of the attendees heartwarming and affirming.
Sam now realizes that the Holy Spirit had been preparing his heart for His presence for a number of years. “Indian Springs matures my walk as I seek the Holy Spirit’s power to become more like Christ”, Sam thoughtfully states.
A believer with great spiritual discipline, Sam experiences Indian Springs while diligently seeking to know what is God’s best for him and his family. He considers his time at Indian Springs as a form of “A Day Apart”, a time separate from the world to ask God the big questions in life and actually listen to His answers.
Sam stays in the Hotel where he finds the accommodations conducive for his own personal Bible study and quiet times. He acknowledges that the Hotel, Cafeteria and Snackateria are reasonably priced. He encourages young families to try a few days at camp, as it is an excellent investment of time.
Butts County Honors Indian Springs
On September 12, 2011, the Butts County Board of Commissioners issued a proclamation recognizing the history, legacy and various achievements of Indian Springs.
Indian Springs’ history is tied to Butts County through the friendship of Captain John Smith of Jackson, GA. Captain Smith had met our four Methodist founders in 1890 as they searched for suitable property for the campground.
Captain Smith was so impressed by the earnestness of these founders that he and other friends purchased the property and gave it to the Camp Ground Association.
On hand to accept the proclamation from Commissioner G.S. “Gator” Hodges was camp meeting spokesman, Matthew Gambil.
Jacob Easley knew he had started a good thing when Indian Springs Evangelist Dr. Tom Atkins mentioned his efforts to raise money for missions in the Main Tabernacle. Each year Jacob and his friends enjoy canvassing the campground on their official "frog hunts."
One frog-hunting night was particularly successful in producing a box of approximately 25 frogs. Jacob’s younger brother, Ben, suggested they turn their expertise into a fundraising effort for missions. Jacob and Ben soon discovered that not many people shared their enthusiasm for buying frogs.
A couple of older folks gave Jacob a dollar for him to release a frog in their name. Jacob quickly adapted his sales strategy to be two-fold: Look-at-a-Frog and Release-a-Frog. He knew this approach was gaining momentum when a multi-aged crowd gathered around the frog box, checking out the little jumpers. Kids were thrilled as Jacob liberated a few frogs in a mud puddle and they swam around, entertaining the group.
As he wandered the campgrounds, a random person he had never met would say, "Let me look at your frogs”. Jacob was discussing selling frogs in the Bookstore with Darrel McGinnis, the Bookstore Manager, when Mrs. McGinnis promptly stopped that discussion! His final take was $15 which aided the ‘Tweens missions offering.
Developing a heart for missions is just one spiritual benefit our children receive during camp meeting. Other youngsters at the Glenn Tabernacle and ‘Tweens Tabernacle created different sources of revenue: selling lemonade and ice water; having yard sales; making crafts, jewelry, and hair bows; raking leaves and walking dogs.
Leslie Marie Easley, mom of Jacob and Ben as well as a Glenn Worker, shared her impressions of the group. "I was impressed by the hard work and effort, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the joy the kids experienced when they raised money themselves to give for God's work!”
Evangelists:
Dr. Al Coppedge
Dr. Roy Lauter
Dr. Bill Ury
Bible Teacher:
Dr. Chris Bounds
Youth Evangelists:
Dr. Dave Ward
Holiness Camp Meeting Directory
Make camp meeting a part of your plans this year! A holiness camp meeting directory shows the dates and locations of over 20 camp meetings in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and more.
Check out this site to learn about other camp meetings that may be held in your part of the country. Of course, you are always welcome to visit us at Indian Springs, but if that isn’t possible, perhaps one of these sites will be closer to you.
Ever wonder how camp meetings began? Our web site gives an interesting overview on the history of camp meetings.