IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPEN AT CAMP MEETINGS

In the mid 1800s throughout the north and south, the phenomenon of camp meetings paralleled a wave of spiritual revival. Simpson Park is Michigan’s oldest such continually-operated camp, recognized by the Michigan Historic Sites registry. The grounds and facilities are available for group event and spiritual retreat rental seven months of the year.

VALUES AND FAITH

Our Core Values:

Family, Retreat, Integrity, Outreach and Worship

Our Mission:

To implement creative ministries that fulfill our vision for building God’s Kingdom.

Our Vision:

To see a year-round Bible-based ministry, delivering the message of Salvation and God’s transforming power; equipping each believer for Christian service.

What we believe:

We believe in one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in the Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy; the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, His virgin birth, His sinless human life, His divine miracles, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His work as High Priest and mediator, and His personal return in power and glory.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, by whose infilling subsequent to regeneration and in response to full surrender, the believer is enabled to live a holy and blameless life.

We believe in the Salvation of lost and sinful man through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by repentance and faith.

We believe that continuing in the Christian life requires faithful service and obedience to Christ.

We believe in the Resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and separation from God, and the saved unto the resurrection of immortal life with all that are redeemed.

HISTORY

Simpson Park is named for Bishop Matthew Simpson, Abraham Lincoln’s trusted spiritual advisor and confidant. We don’t know whether Honest Abe ever graced this sacred Michigan soil, but the heritage of his era and the integrity of his contemporaries live strong here.

In the early 1800s, the Great Awakening was continuing to inspire spiritual renewal. American Methodists had begun holding informal camp meetings. Initially, these gatherings were summertime extensions of spiritual revival meetings from the winter.

In 1865 the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by geographic districts. On thirteen acres here in Southeast Michigan, Reverend John Russell, the district’s presiding elder, officially established the Romeo District Camp Meeting.

During the late 1860s families traveled great distances to gather under the foliage for three weeks of almost uninterrupted religious exercises.

A short time later the Romeo camp was renamed to honor the nationally respected Methodist Bishop, Matthew Simpson. Simpson was a close friend and confidant of Abraham Lincoln. The president is said to have attributed his Emancipation Proclamation to Simpson’s influence. Later, Simpson would lead the eulogy at Lincoln’s graveside.

Bishop Matthew Simpson presided over the 8th session and again at the 20th of the Detroit Annual Conference held in Romeo in 1863 and 1874 respectively.

Since the late 1890s, Simpson Park Camp Meeting Grounds have been operated by a private association, predominantly of United Methodists. In 1907, it was reorganized, and the Reverend William G. Nixon was elected its first president. In 1910, a tabernacle was built and named in Nixon’s honor. It is still in use today.

Many of the children and young people who attended camp meetings went on to become preachers, missionaries and camp leaders.

The annual Family Camp Meeting is still held for ten days in late July and early August. The meetings are less rigid than in the 1860s; social and recreational activities have been added. The original camp meeting grounds on thirteen acres have grown to fifty-five acres.

TODAY

The grounds and facilities are available for rental seven months of the year. Seventy-seven rustic lodges, cottages and activity spaces, and over 80 RV and tent campsites, are situated village-like on fifty-five acres of woodland and fields.

The quaint charm of this Victorian-era country setting creates a unique, distraction-free environment perfect for important gatherings and memorable events.

During ten days in late July and early August, a Family Camp Meeting gathers, as it has annually since 1865. All are welcome.

The grounds are owned and managed by The Simpson Park Camp Meeting Grounds Association, a Christian, interdenominational, 501(c)(3) organization. Our independent Board of Trustees continues to honor the rich spiritual heritage the Methodists conveyed for over a hundred years.

Simpson Park is a member of the Christian Camp and Conference Association.