Bethlehem Family
Camp began during the days of the brush arbor meetings held in this country
after the turn of the 20th century. The Reverends A. H. Van Landingham,
his brother, O. H. Van Landingham and W. J. Hughes saw a need for revival and
inspiration in rural Holmes County, Florida and held the first campmeeting
near the community of Bethlehem in 1931. The next year the campmeeting
was moved to the current site of Bethlehem Family Camp.
As the encampments grew from one year to the next, the
need for housing was met by the building of dormitories and private cabins,
and food, once handled by individual families, began to be served from a
small central kitchen.
Since its meager inception, the camp has grown until it
now has five two-story dormitories, three one-story housing buildings,
various meeting areas, an enclosed conference center, a swimming pool and
sports field, a full kitchen with three dining rooms, and RV sites, as well
as an open air tabernacle seating 500.
A more complete history of Bethlehem Family Camp can be
found in the book Like a Mighty Oak, prepared by Nancy Geci
Anderson for the 60th anniversary of the encampment in 1991. In 2006 an updated camp history was
prepared for the 75th encampment through the gracious efforts of Mrs. Doris
Newsome, whose roots also go back to the beginning of the encampments.
