After an unprecedented hiatus, a long-standing tradition in Henry County’s faith community is set to make a triumphant return.

Shingleroof Campground, at the corner of Ga. Highway 155 and Campground Road in McDonough, will host its Bicentennial Campmeeting July 16-22, with worship services at 11 a.m., on Saturday through Thursday, and at 7:45 p.m., each night.

The event will celebrate the the 200th birthday of Henry County, said County Historian and lifelong campmeeting attendee, Gene Morris.

He said records for the campmeeting date back to 1831 when the 100-acre campmeeting grounds were purchased.
“Tradition suggests the campmeeting was organized several years before that,” said Morris. “This has been a local tradition for 10 generations of Henry Countians and continues strong today.”

Morris said the campmeeting is not an example of “living history” or reenactment. Rather, he said, it is an “ongoing vital, organic institution” that serves a valuable role in today’s world.

“When you come to campmeeting, you are a real and continuing part of the Second Great Awakening, the revival that swept across the American frontier in the 1820s and ‘30s,” he said. “This revival has never died and is needed now, more than ever, in our country, our community, our families, and ourselves.”

Morris acknowledged that the timing of campmeetings through the years have adapted to fit the needs of the community at any given time. However, he said, its purpose remains the same.

“Campmeeting is when the people of Henry County gather as a community, worship God, and seek spiritual revival and renewal,” said Morris. “It’s a great time to visit old friends and make new ones. Campmeeting is a time of music, fellowship, fun, and interdenominational worship in the great outdoors.”

Last year marked the first time in Shingleroof’s history that the campmeeting was cancelled, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Morris said regular attendees are excited about returning for this year’s gathering.

“This is a very special one because we will be gathering to give thanks for making it through this past year, and sharing with the families who lost friends and family to the virus,” he said.

Scheduled preachers for the campmeeting include: the Rev. Nate Keeler on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night; the Rev. Jason Minter on Monday morning; and the Rev. Dr. John Ed Mathison on Monday evening.

Beverly Arnold of Hampton has been coming to the Shingleroof Campmeeting in McDonough for about 35 years, while attending Flippen United Methodist Church. Arnold said she read about the campmeeting in a local newspaper, and that her family “fell in love with it immediately.”

In 2013, she and her family became tenters at the campground, where she has been in preparation for this year’s campmeeting.

“We haven’t missed it since we found out about it,” said Arnold, 68. “You feel safe with your children there. Everybody watches out for each other, they care for each other. They do all things with kindness. It has really added to the growth – personally, religiously, and everything else for my whole family.”

Arnold said one of her favorite aspects of the tradition is the opportunity to interact with fellow believers in Jesus Christ.
“Meeting around the tabernacle for the services, and around the table for the food and conversation, has been very important,” said Arnold.

“Our church choir has sung there so many times. The music is wonderful down there.”
Arnold said her family was “devastated” when the 2020 Campmeeting was cancelled.

“It was a nightmare year,” she said. “We missed everything that was important to us.”

Speaking with a renewed sense of hope, Arnold said she will again be able to worship with friends at Shingleroof. She will also — for the second time — get to see one of her grandchildren get baptized at the campmeeting.

Arnold’s daughter, Lynlee Garmon of Peachtree City, has been coming to the Shingleroof Campmeeting since she was three years old. She grew up in the aforementioned tents, and later served as a counselor at the campground from ages 15 to 26.

Now 34, Garmon said she eagerly looks forward to the campmeeting each year.

“It’s better than Christmas, because there’s no pressure or expectation to be something other than a person who loves Jesus, just sitting on the porch talking about the wonderful things in the world,” she said. “It’s not a negative place.”
Garmon said she is filled with a “bubbling-up enthusiasm” about returning to the campground.

“Everyone there feels like family,” she said. There are people you don’t talk to for 11 months, and you see them on the porch, and everything is in sync. It’s just a beautiful blend of people who feel like family. Because you tent, people genuinely care about you whether you’re family or not.”

“From a spiritual perspective, it is where I go to be filled up,” Garmon continued. “It fills my cup. You can last through a year of hard things because your cup is filled.”

Garmon said she is thankful for the friendships she has made at Shingleroof over the years, and that she has enjoyed watching her kids do the same. The campground is where her older daughter, Audrey Kate, was baptized in 2019.
Garmon said Rev. Dr. Mathison will baptize her one-year-old daughter, Annabeth, at this year’s campmeeting.

“You’re committing a child’s life to Christ with a caring community around them, who will watch out for their faith walk,” said Garmon.

Doug Stroup will be the Worship Leader during the campmeeting, with Amy Stroup playing the piano for each service. Mark Miller will serve as Worship Leader Sunday morning. Additional musicians scheduled for the event are: the Rev. Chris Harris; Revelation United; The Jonesmen; Elizabeth Johnson; the McDonough Presbyterian Church choir; and Wanda Joy with Danny Howell.

The dining hall at the campground will not be open for the campmeeting. Food trucks will be on-site on some evenings from 5-7 p.m. Restaurants providing food trucks include Gezzo’s Surf & Grille, Waffle House, Sweet Auburn BBQ, and The Varsity.

For additional information on the 2021 Campmeeting, visit www.shingleroof.org.