DAVIS—“A thing to behold.” These words by Bill Pierce, Baptist Village Communities (BVC) president, echoed most everyone’s sentiments the day of Oct. 22 at Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center.
More than 200 residents, Friends Team, board members and support team members, representing all eight Baptist Villages, gathered at the nearly 100-year-old camp for a day of reliving the vintage Falls Creek experience.
“Wow . . . to God be the glory!” declared Pierce. “The Falls Creek reunion tour was a very worshipful and godly time, not to mention a tremendous success. What a blessing to experience this amazing time together and share how God has worked in the lives of his people across generations.”
The day began with an arrival of countless buses and vans bringing the hundreds to camp, giving those in attendance a camp tour. Residents noted that the modern Falls Creek was a far cry from the grounds they remembered decades ago.
“We had no air conditioning, no hot water at all back then,” recalled Don Hutchings, resident from Baptist Village of Owasso. “But we loved every minute of it!”
Many residents attended Falls Creek as campers or sponsors 40, 50 or 60-plus years ago. A couple of residents even attended Falls Creek in the 1940s.
After tours, all in attendance gathered for an old-fashioned worship service, led by none other than the “legendary” Bill Green and his wife, Linda. Loud proclamations of “Victory in Jesus” and “Saved, Saved, Saved” filled the Massey Chapel. BVC Director of Chaplain Services Chris Finley delivered the message from God’s Word. But more importantly, people came to know Christ that morning.
Following lunch and fellowship together in the dining hall, all gathered in Ada, First’s cabin for a cabin devotional led by Pierce. This is where the Falls Creek experience really came alive in people.
Resident Doris Calvert, Cleveland, shared her testimony.
“My late husband and I first took our Muskogee youth group down to Falls Creek in 1970. This originally small group grew amazingly through the following years. I cooked for 33 years at Falls Creek. Through it all, we were able to reach not only a lot of children but also their parents. My son Larry, who was saved at Falls Creek, now brings youth to camp himself, just like his parents!”
Vicki Lang, Owasso resident, shared this with the group.
“Since I was 12, I wanted to go to Falls Creek. We went to the Church of God camp, but I still wanted to go to Falls Creek. By the time I was old enough to go to Falls Creek, our family had moved from Depew to Tulsa. There wasn’t a Baptist church nearby, and at that point, the Church of God camp wasn’t around anymore. Long story short, it’s written in the Bible that God will give you the desires of your heart. And here I am today at Falls Creek, years later!”
Roy Wilburn of Baptist Village of Oklahoma City, happily tells his story.
“I was thinking of all the groups and churches my wife and I brought down to Falls Creek for 26 years and all the lives that have been changed. We’d go back to churches and watch these young men and women give their testimonies and then go into God’s work. I know when I get to Heaven, I’m going to meet a lot of people who will say, ‘Thank you for taking us to Falls Creek and what it’s meant to us.’”
Seeing more than 200 people, young and old, lifting voices together in praise and giving testimonies of their Falls Creek experience truly was a thing to behold. BVC is grateful to God for allowing this amazing event to become a reality.
