Imperial Valley Holiness Camp: a time-honored legacy of faith

    The Imperial Valley Holiness Camp is an interdenominational family church group whose grounds are located on Highway 6, three and a half miles east of Imperial.
    Each year, dozens upon dozens of people of all ages travel from near and far to attend the 10-day spiritual event.
    This year’s gathering of scripture, teachings and music will begin Thursday, July 20, with a 7 p.m. concert in the main tabernacle at the camp, featuring the Freedom Fellowship Worship Team from Freedom Fellowship Church in Yuma, Colorado.
   The worship team is made up of three young women—Amanda Monk, Kennadee Monk and Aelyn Munoz, glorifying God and leading the worship to prepare hearts for the next nine days of spiritual growth and learning.
    Following the concert will be Pastor Ben Walker, musician, vocalist and spiritual leader who will be leading worship each night, ushering God’s people into His presence through worship, praise, prayer and music.
    Speaker for the Imperial Valley Holiness Camp Meeting for the week will be Pastor Rob Schmutz and, a traveling evangelist in The Church of the Nazarene. He is originally from Abilene, Kansas.
    This is a family camp with activities for all ages including two church services a day combined with opportunities to attend an early morning prayer meeting and afternoon bible study for adults.
 There will be youth and children’s workers on the camp grounds to teach and plan activities throughout the day.
    Kris Mustion and Kathy Weintz will be returning as children’s workers, leading the curriculum “Walking with Jesus.”
    Pastor Brian Boisselle of Crossroads Wesleyan Church and his wife, Amber, will be assisting with the daily children’s program.
    The camp is not about activities but rather spending time in God’s Word, developing lasting relationships with Christian friends and strengthening the family unit so, as Christians, they can take the Word of God home to share with others.
    The object of the holiness camp association is to seek and save the lost, empower them to lead a sanctified changed life and send people back home to strengthen and edify their local church.
    After its July 20 opening, the camp continues until Sunday, July 30.
Accommodations
    Camp attendees can reserve accommodations at area motels/hotels or B&B establishments if desired.
    Many choose to reserve spaces on site for campers or motor homes. Camp sites are equipped with electrical and water hookups as well as space to set up tents.
    There are also 15 cabins to reserve for adults and families, plus dorms for girls and boys entering seventh grade up to entering college.
    The Holiness Camp relies solely on donations from those who attend. The donations pay for camp expenses. Staff members and the Association’s board are volunteers.
    Meals are provided three times a day in the camp dining hall for a freewill donation.
    Enders Reservoir is available for camping less than five miles away.
Birth of a legacy
    The first inkling of an idea about establishing a camp meeting took place during the 1890s by Levi Harmon, a deeply spiritual and capable leader.
    Harmon’s son, Galen, became owner of his father’s farm and its cottonwood grove. He, too, carried a burden on his heart to start a camp meeting.         In August 1911, after contacting others interested, the first camp meeting was held at Harmon Grove, one mile west and eight miles south of where the Day schoolhouse sat. The grove was two miles south of the Chase County line and seven miles east of the Colorado line.
    The interdenominational camp meeting was organized and it became a member of the Nebraska State Holiness Association. It was named the Dundy and Chase County Holiness Association.
    The committee was formed with each evangelistic worker being chosen from a different church organization—sometimes as many as 8-12 organizations were represented in one year. The organization grew to 21 charter members representing a variety of denominations.
    It was said, “Many people received great spiritual benefit from these meetings and testified to the power of God’s Spirit. The Glory of God that was on these services and how the Holy Spirit manifested His power in their midst was a driving force.”
    The camp was held at Harmon Grove from 1911-1920 as the number of attendees grew and the association held conventions in various locations. The year was 1913, and the lights were gas lanterns hung on two center poles supporting a big tent.
    During camp meetings, people would bring their milk cows, cook stoves, tables, chairs, dishes and any equipment necessary for 10 days of camping and making meals. Large donations of food were brought in such as summer apples, canned cherries, peaches from home orchards, tomatoes, string beans, cucumbers, roasting ears, flour, chickens, homemade jellies and animals for butchering.
    During the last meeting in 1920, it was decided the camp should be moved since Galen Harmon had sold his property and moved to California. In 1921, the camp meeting was moved to a grove nine miles north and eight miles east of Harmon Grove and dubbed Robert Grove.
    In 1922, the name was changed to Dundy, Chase and Perkins County Holiness Association due to a large attendance from Perkins County.
    Another milestone was achieved in 1923 when eight association conventions resulted in several new churches being organized in the area.
    The camp was held at this location until 1924 and saw increasing numbers of people attending, bringing their burdens and problems to lay at the altar and hear heart-searching sermons preached under the anointing of the Spirit. More people participated as volunteers to help assist with camp meetings, provide food and work together during challenges or hardships.
    Miriam Hegwood, longtime member of the holiness camp association and current secretary for the board, wrote about a challenging situation in 1924.
    A severe storm broke during the evening service. The dining tent and several of the small tents were blown down, and the tabernacle tent was in jeopardy.
    Several men held the ropes while others supported the two center poles. Other people were holding the sidewall curtains as rain and hail beat down on the canvas top so loudly the people couldn’t hear each other speak.
    The lights strung throughout the tent went out, and they could only see as the lightning flashed. That particular night the standing tents were overcrowded. The lightning struck a tree nearby but no one was injured.
    The next day the wet bedding was hung up to dry, the tents were put up again and the camp was back to normal. Everyone pitched in to help and get this important ministry back on track.
    The next year, in 1925, the camp was moved seven and a half miles north of the Robert Grove, five miles west of Imperial on Highway 6 and a half mile north, called Hudnall Grove. A framed dining hall was built in place of tents. Work on the framed dining hall began in the spring and was completed in time for camp that summer.
     A story in The Imperial Republican in 1925 stated, “The cooking and eating house was a big improvement. Approximately 400 were fed regularly at camp. The crowds were large with Sunday afternoon being placed at 1,000 persons from almost every section of the surrounding country. Many families were enjoying picnic dinners on the grounds.”
    People showed up on preparation day to work and set up for camp. The big tabernacle tent was again erected on large poles using blocks and tackles to raise the huge tent. Electric wires for lights were strung in the tents, dining hall and in the yard. This was done every year for holiness camp with many volunteers still helping today, although with modern buildings and utilities.
    Continued donations over the years supplied funds for a new organ and a piano along with a new coal range. More tents and song books were eventually added.
    Each time the camp moved, it attracted new people in its vicinity, Hegwood said.
    The spiritual tide was riding high during these years with many young people and children saved during camp meetings. The association purchased a used tent for the young people and children’s services. Seats were planks with no backs. It was said it became much like a revival for many, especially the youths.
    The camp remained at this location until 1936.
Moving forward
   The Tri-County Holiness Association decided to move the camp once again in 1937.  A house mover transported the dining hall and a cabin to the new location in a beautiful grove of tall shady trees on the Oltman (Benson) farm, seven and a half miles southeast of Imperial and four and a half miles west of Enders on the Frenchman River.
    A new well was dug, tents erected, buildings in place and electric lights hooked up. The camp remained at this location until 1949.
    Because of the amount of growth in attendance at the camp, in 1941 it was decided two evangelists were needed instead of one. Some of the most spiritual, dynamic and talented evangelists in the U.S. were speakers during these years. Many people were saved, wrote Hegwood.
    There were several new features added at the Benson Grove camp. A gas range stove and gas refrigerator were purchased along with a butane gas tank—a great improvement over the coal range and icebox.
    In addition, 32 army cots and mattresses and 24 large army tents were purchased and rented out to campers. The oldest tents were cut in sections and used for floor coverings in the tents instead of straw.
     Some campers brought their trailer houses to live in including some of the evangelists. An important phase of the work of the association was to hold conventions in surrounding churches during the year apart from camp meeting.
    Another article in The Imperial Republican in 1944 reported, “People who remain at camp are asked to bring their bedding and quotas of sugar and their ration books. Provisions for the tables such as vegetables, bread, milk, eggs, lard, fruits, chicken, etc. will be appreciated.”
     The article noted the number of people was still growing, “The seating capacity of the tent was taxed, and many were standing outside the tent or sitting in cars due to the lack of room for the Sunday services.”
    As in the past, this new location brought with it not only the previous following, but new people from the new vicinity.
    The camp had been growing for many years to such large proportions that it had long since outgrown its name. The name of the camp was officially changed to Tri-County Holiness Association.
    In 1943, word was received that the camp site was wanted for the Enders Dam construction project. A finance committee was chosen and a building fund started for purchasing a permanent camp site as near to Imperial as possible.
    In the spring of 1946, William Claney donated a three-acre site on Highway 6, three miles east of Imperial in the heart of “Imperial Valley.”
    Chinese elms were dug at Sterling, Colorado and brought to the camp site in two trips and transplanted. A well was dug to water the trees and for future use.
    The name of the camp meeting was changed in 1946 to Imperial Valley Holiness Association. The association purchased a building at the McCook Air Base and moved it to the new site as a storeroom, placing it on a concrete floor.
Time to vacate
    Word was received in 1949 to vacate the location near Enders for the dam project, but they were prepared. Association members moved existing buildings and hauled in gravel while others helped to make a foundation for the dining hall.
    “In 1950, my husband helped build a new permanent tabernacle at the Claney site, the largest building at the camp—a dream come true,” said Hegwood.  
    It was amazing the amount of work these people put in transplanting trees, moving and building structures and much more—the blood, sweat and tears that were invested, she added.
    Since the first year at the Claney site there have been many improvements and additions made over the years.
    There’s an electric water pump outside for the convenience of campers. The kitchen is equipped with labor-saving devices which include a work table, lighting, hot water tank, two electric refrigerators, a gas refrigerator, a hotel gas cooking range, a hotel dishwashing sink, army serving trays and three new pressure cookers.
    Meals are served cafeteria style. The large tabernacle is equipped with good lighting and a public address system.
Perseverance in hard times
    Hegwood explained that during the Covid pandemic in 2020, the nine camp board members were faced with a decision of what to do for that summer’s camp.
    “During the pandemic, I wanted to be fully informed and look back to the past before casting my vote on an action,” Hegwood said.
    “I committed to research what plan of action was taken by the holiness camps during a similar situation—the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. After extensive searching, it seemed that they didn’t let it stop the move of God, so it was camp as usual.”
    She said she let that knowledge guide her vote, and the nine voting members agreed they didn’t want to lose continuity of meeting together in concern that it might change the flow of what had been a strong spiritual movement since 1911.
    Using caution and common sense, the board voted unanimously to hold a one-day camp meeting the summer of 2020 with the majority of it held outside.
    “We didn’t open the dining hall, cabins, dorms or bathroom/shower building, but instead provided porta potties, and people brought picnic meals to eat outside. The only building open for gathering was in the main tabernacle to listen to the speaker,” said Hegwood.
     “This way we didn’t stop the movement of what had always been.”
    As written in a compiled book of historical writings about the Imperial Valley Holiness Camp, “The grounds do not make up the heart of the Imperial Valley Holiness Camp—it is the people. The people who come each year—some for the entire time; some for a day or just an occasional service.
    “These people consider the camp their ‘oasis in the desert’ and as they pass back out through the gate at the end of their stay, they have purpose in their hearts to reach out to others in their world.”
    For reservation information on this year’s camp, contact Renee Crossland-Green at 970-580-3248. For all other information contact Miriam Hegwood at 308-278-2200.