Rajmund Dabrowski with Ron Johnson – Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado … For Leroy Archer, participating in the Cowboy Camp Meeting is an annual event and a high point in the year.
Archer regularly worships in Nucla, Colorado. The Cowboy Camp Meeting is also a regular event for him. “I look forward to [this] Camp Meeting every year. Oftentimes, I’m involved with music. So, the music, you know, touches my heart deeply. But I think it’s, mostly, reconnecting with people that I know and meet—fellow believers—and being able to share like-minded thinking about Jesus openly.”
The event setting makes this gathering special and was held July 10-13. For one, it can remind you of how “it used to be, a large tent and all.” The site chosen for the event is recognized for its scenic beauty and for the ability to ride and hike the trails. Participants’ comments abound that the event provides a “blessed mountain top experience.” And the weather was truly enjoyed by all.
When asked for a comment of what stood out at the meeting, Mic Thurber, Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) president, remarked that “you feel like you’re worshiping all the time when you’re in a setting of a nature’s cathedral like we have around here. The people around here love to be here in this setting, and they love to worship together in this informal setting.”
He added that “some very important spiritual truths were taught, but I think it’s the setting that allows people to absorb them and apply them to their lives. And I love the way they fellowship with each other.”
Each day opened with musical praise time with a camp band and the participants joining in the 2024 camp meeting theme song chorus: “Just any day now, our Lord is coming. He’ll be retuning for you and me.”
As we watch and wait, abiding in Christ should be the priority of each one of us. “Abiding in Christ,” based on John 15, was the message of morning program by Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church in Monrose, Colorado, lead pastor, Nathan Cranson. “As we abide in Christ, we go through a pruning process in order to produce fruit,” he said, explaining the pruning process for grapes to produce fruit. “Eighty percent of the vine is cut back in order to remove the woody stock which doesn’t produce fruit,” he explained.
“The pruning time can be confusing and painful, but we need to hang on—abiding and trusting in Jesus. When we experience anxiety and fear we sever our connection with God, and, when we feel stress and worry, temptation is the strongest. When we feel peace by trusting in Jesus, temptation will not have a hold on us,” Cranson emphasized.
The evening messages were presented by Pastor Jason O’Rourke, who was, until recently, chaplain at Littleton Adventist Hospital. Basing his messages on Ephesians 1:1-14, he said that if we are secure in Jesus we will want what He wants. “As sinners, we can’t turn ourselves around, Jesus turns us around. Our job is to keep our eyes on Jesus,” he pointed out.
Commenting on her Camp Meeting experience, Cheri Scott, a participant from Grand Junction, Colorado, said, “I appreciate hearing the word of God and hearing about the love of God mostly. And in an informal setting where there are no pretenses. We’re just a bunch of people in our grubby clothes and hanging out and hearing about God and singing joyful songs and praying together.”
One of the new features of the “wilderness gathering” was having audio amplification, enjoyed by all—speakers, musicians, and the audience, alike. Karl Schwinn, who was involved with the camp set-up including a public address (PA) system, commented that he has been at cowboy camp now for 12 or 15 years. What stands out is “the fellowship. I came in on Wednesday and I visited around. I felt like it was Sabbath already on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. It’s just the peace and the fellowship [of this meeting] that stands out.”
The organizers plan to have the 2025 Colorado Cowboy Camp Meeting July 9-13, 2025. It will be the 25th event to be held in the same location, the Uncompahgre National Forrest, southeast of Silver Jack Reservoir.
—Rajmund Dabrowski is the RMC communication director with Ron Johnson, from Grand Junction, the Cowboy Camp Meeting treasurer. Photos by Rajmund Dabrowski.
