The nations came to English Mountain in Newport, Tennessee, in June.
More than 300 children, teenagers and adults from across the state attended the All Nations Camp at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center. The camp was sponsored by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
It is the largest attended camp since 2019, said William Burton, new churches team leader and ethnic specialist for the TBMB. The camp was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and last year’s attendance was less than 100, far short of the record 500 who attended in 2018.
What makes All Nations Camp special is that “it is all about evangelism, worship and connecting with children and youth from our language churches,” Burton said.
During the event, held June 6–10, 88 campers made salvation decisions and dozens of others rededicated their lives, Burton said.
‘Our no. 1 objective’
“I am already getting reports from pastors across the state that many campers went forward at their church Sunday morning for baptism!! That is our No. 1 objective,” he proclaimed.
Burton observed “there was a great spirit of revival at the camp. Throughout the week, I observed groups of campers and leaders in prayer meetings that were not on the schedule.”
Burton credited Dave Shelley and the entire staff at ANC “for being a tremendous blessing.”
He also expressed gratitude to the conference center and its staff for all they did to make the event a success. “Tennessee Baptists are blessed to have a world class conference center,” he said.
The TBMB specialist noted that All Nations Camp is made possible through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. Plans are to offer two All Nations Camps next year — one at Carson Springs and one at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center, he said.
“That will give us the opportunity to reach more international children and youth with the gospel,” he said.
Shelley, director of missions for Wilson County Baptist Association has been involved in ANC for 27 years and he has led 26 of those.
“There is no telling how many lives have been impacted at All Nations Camps over the years,” Shelley said. “We will not find out until eternity.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally written by Lonnie Wilkey and published by Baptist & Reflector.
