Red River Valley Bible Camp to host 31st annual meeting

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  • Kyle Gulledge and his family help to organize the free Back to Bethel Camp Meeting held at Red River Valley Bible Camp in Paris. Courtesy
    Kyle Gulledge and his family help to organize the free Back to Bethel Camp Meeting held at Red River Valley Bible Camp in Paris. Courtesy
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The 31st annual Back to Bethel Camp Meeting is scheduled for June 24-27 at Red River Valley Bible Camp in Paris.

The conference will feature guest speakers Larry Jordon, Dr. Jerry Vines, Malcom Ellis and Dr. Bill Harrell, and singers Mark Humble and the Steve Adams Family.

“We want to encourage and equip those who attend and the churches they represent,” wrote Kyle Gulledge, organizer for the event. “Every service will inspire with great gospel music and powerful teaching.”

One difference this year, Gulledge stated, is that there will not be a morning session.

Meals for those staying on the grounds in the “barracks style” dorms or at the RV site will be provided with breakfast and lunch. A meal will also be served at no charge just prior to the evening sessions.

There is no cost for this conference nor for the RV hook-ups, as “We simply receive a love offering at every session and trust God to meet the needs through the gifts of his people,” Gulledge wrote. Anyone who plans to stay in the dorms or at the RV site should call Gulledge at 713-702-1107 or email kyleg@sview.org for availability.

The conference begins at 6:45 p.m. Monday, June 24. Child care is available at all services for ages 5 and under.

For more information, go online to rrvbcparis.com or Back to Bethel Camp Meeting on Facebook.

It was during a revival meeting in Paris at the East Paris Baptist Church in the early 1970s that Ralph Gossett shard a vision he had of a Baptist campground that provided preaching and singing, and fed and housed the attendees at no cost. Near the close of the revival, Mr. and Mrs. Morris Cass approached Gossett with the offer of donating 56 acres, which became Red River Valley Bible Camp. The first camp meetings were held in an open air tent in the middle of July. To begin, the initial camp in 1973 featured Manley Beasley as the guest speaker. Bad weather, however, forced the conference to take place at East Paris Baptist Church.

The camp was overseen by Gosset until 1993, when Mike Fortenberry, then-pastor of the East Paris Baptist Church, took over.

Gosset died in August 2007 at the age of 82.

Gulledge is the eldest grandson of Gosset and serves on the board of directors, re-instituting the annual Back to Bethel Camp Meeting in July 2009.

The ministries of Red River Valley Bible Camp reach pastors from all over Texas as well as many other states and foreign missionaries.