Falls Creek revels in 100 years
DAVIS — Oklahoma Baptists marked the 100th anniversary of Falls Creek with a joyous worship service Sunday that drew more than 5,000 people to the beloved camp and conference center near Davis.
“Tonight is a celebration of a century of God’s faithfulness,” U.S. Sen. James Lankford, who once served as a Falls Creek
youth camp director, told the crowd.
Generations of campers sang and worshipped together during the event fittingly titled “Homecoming Service.” It was the finale of a two-day celebration that began with a modern worship experience called “Night of Praise” on Saturday.
Baptist clergymen J.B. Rounds and W.D. Moorer purchased the 160 acres in the Arbuckle Mountains in 1917. The pair envisioned it as an ideal place to host Baptist Young People’s Union (B.Y.P.U.) Bible studies, campouts and worship services.
The encampment evolved through the years to become a “spiritual treasure,” said the Rev. Anthony Jordan, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, which owns and operates Falls Creek.
Jordan, who served as keynote speaker of Sunday’s service, noted that more than 2 million people have walked the camp’s ground in its 100-year history.
“The legacy of Falls Creek is really a legacy of faith. It was on these grounds that we were immersed in the powerful preaching and teaching of the word of God,” Jordan told those gathered.
“It was this very thing that Rounds and Moorer most desired when they made their ways to the top of Buzzard Hill before that first assembly.”
Guests also were treated to musical performances by the Falls Creek Centennial Reunion Choir, led by the Oklahoma Baptist convention worship and music specialist Randy Lind. Former Falls Creek music director Bill Green led the crowd through a rousing rendition of a Falls Creek classic “Saved, Saved,” with Lankford accompanying on timpani, something he regularly did as camp director.
Special guests included Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, a member of Quail Springs Baptist Church. Before his remarks, guests watched a video presentation of Gov. Mary Fallin, who congratulated Baptists on the anniversary of the conference’s center, which she called a “spiritual landmark known throughout the world.”
“Having a place like Falls Creek makes a difference to our state and truly sets us apart from other states,” Fallin said.
Lamb was one of several speakers who hinted at the nostalgia that seemed to pulse throughout the building.
He said he brought a knife with him to carve his and his wife’s names on the backs of the tabernacle seats, much like the campers of yesteryear when they scrawled their names and messages on the backs of the pews of the old open-air tabernacle.
“Somewhere, Dr. Jordan is praying that I’m kidding. I’m kidding,” Lamb said jokingly.
Historic place
Falls Creek developed a reputation through the years as a popular youth summer camp destination. Early day campers started out in tents but eventually, Baptist churches throughout the state built cabins — from the very basic to the more elaborate — where young people gathered for the close-knit fellowship and camaraderie of group Bible studies.
For evening worship, youths flocked to the old open-air tabernacle where many scrawled their names or messages on the old wooden pews.
The historic open-air structure, though beloved, was torn down in 2005 to make way for the current climate controlled 7,000plus seat R.A. Young Tabernacle where Sunday’s event was held.
The enclosed tabernacle, opened in 2007, was only the beginning of an expansive renovation and construction campaign designed to modernize the encampment and make it a year-round facility.
In 2016, Jordan hosted a dedication service for the Mathena Family Event Center, Thompson Family Lodge, Jordan Welcome Center, plus a lighted concourse called Downing Way — a bevy of new facilities that were part of more than $50 million in improvements and enhancements made at Falls Creek in a time period of about 16 years.
Before Sunday’s worship service, Janese Maness, 65, of First Baptist Church of Felt, walked around the camp with her relatives looking at all the changes since she last visited eight years ago.
She said she knew she had to attend the anniversary celebration.
“This is holy ground. God has kept it going all these years,” Maness said.
Brandi Nielson, 16, a member of First Baptist Church of East Lawton, said she accepted Christ in her life while attending a youth camp week at Falls Creek. She said she has been coming to the camp since she was in fifth grade.
“It’s so welcoming. It’s like a safe haven for me,” Nielson said.
In addition to the more than 5,000 people who worshipped Sunday in the enclosed tabernacle, more than 14,000 others watched the celebration at any given time via livestream, said Brian Hobbs, the Oklahoma Baptist convention’s communications director.