The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association is a ministry whose mission is to provide opportunities for spiritual birth, growth, and renewal in a Christian seaside setting. Centrally located on the Jersey Shore, the association was founded in 1869. Today it continues to put on a vibrant program of preaching, teaching and celebration throughout the summer months. More recently, the Camp Meeting has also been providing year-round activities.

The Association is a non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. By charter, all trustees must be members of the United Methodist Church. At least ten of these members must be clergy and at least ten must be lay people. There are also Associate Trustees which may belong to any Christian denomination. Camp Meetings were an important aspect of evangelism and revivalism in the sparsely settled areas of the American frontier. Events were held in the open air and took place over several days. Because many attendees had to travel some distance in order to be there, it was common to simply camp out at the very spot, thus leading to the name. Tenting is still a way of life in Ocean Grove, where at one time there were 200 tents for every home. Today there are 114 tent structures still nestled around the Great Auditorium, which is the hub of the summer program activities and where descendants of founding families continue to carry on this tradition.

Visit the Ocean Grove website at http://oceangrove.org/