Gus Nichols, beloved minister of the church in Jasper, Ala., preached in a meeting in Munford, Ala., in 1937. During the meeting, he stated that he had studied the Bible five hours a day for twenty years. Franklin Camp, a young fellow, heard that statement. He decided that if a man of Brother Nichols' ability needed to study the Bible five hours a day, he needed to study it even more. He started then to spend at least six hours a day in Bible study. He goes to his study at four-thirty or five o'clock in the morning, because he has learned that early morning is the best time for meditation. He believes that his greatest responsibility is to study God's word in order to be able too teach it to others. Think of the example of Brother Camp, who has studied the Bible six hours a day for twenty-three years! Franklin Camp has been invited to deliver the 1961 series of lectures on preaching at David Lipscomb College in January. It is my hope that his example will encourage the many young men at Lipscomb and those who read this article to study the Bible more. Brother Camp now preaches for the church which meets at 620 Hoke Street in East Gadsden, Ala.

-Willard Collins, Gospel Advocate, March 31, 1960, page 200

Joseph Franklin Camp

Franklin Camp, a much-loved and respected student and teacher of the word of God died Monday, May 21 after a brief illness. He was 75 years old. News of his death saddened Christians across the nation. This brief account will note some milestones in the life of this faithful Christian whose work influenced so many through more than fifty years of preaching and writing.  

Joseph Franklin Camp was born June 9,1915 near the foot of Cheaha Mountain at Hopeful, Alabama. His family moved to Munford in 1921. His father, Benjamin Franklin Camp, preached at Munford and ran a store there. As a youth, Franklin heard the preaching of S. P. Pittman (who baptized him at age 14), S. H. Hall, Gus Nichols, and others who came to preach in gospel meetings. These brethren were guests in the Camps' home during those meetings.  

Franklin entered David Lipscomb College in the fall of 1934, where he formed a friendship with Willard Collins that would last a lifetime. Franklin Camp preached his first sermon June 9, 1935, at Campbell Crossroads, Alabama. The following Sunday he preached at Munford.  

On February 27, 1937, brother Camp married Hazel Howell. They walked hand in hand for more than 54 years. The Camps had four children -- Frank, Vivian, Paul, and David It was also in 1937 that brother Camp began preaching regularly at Munford. That yea, brother Gus Nichols came to Munford for a meeting, and brother Camp learned that brother Nichols studied about five hours a day. He decided that he needed to study six hours a day, and for most of fifty years, he woke up early to get to the study where he did the work that enriched his life and preaching. At Munford he worked in his father's store, and ran it after the elder Camp died. In 1938, he started preaching daily on WHMA in Amiston. Many were converted, and congregations were established as a result of that program. Those were the days of "brush arbor" and tent meetings, and brother Camp preached frequently in those open-air gatherings. One account sent to the Gospel Advocate told of crowds sitting in the rain to hear the gospel preached by brother Camp. He preached in stores and houses, wherever the opportunity arose. Congregations in Talladega, Lineville, Piedmont, Pine Hill, and other communities were established as a result of brother Camp's work during those Munford days.

In 1947, Franklin and Hazel Camp moved to LaGrange, Georgia where they worked for two years. In 1949, they moved to East Gadsden, Alabama, to work thirteen years with the church there. Many were converted as a result of radio preaching in Gadsden. A dark page of the Camps' life was written at East Gadsden was on September 13, 1951, when their daughter Vivian died after being burned in an accident.  

In 1962, the Camps moved to Birmingham to work with the Shades Mountain Church of Christ. Brother Camp preached there until 1971, when he left local work to devote full time to writing and lecturing, supported by the Adamsville congregation and others. In 1976, he began working with the Adamsville church, teaching a Bible class beginning in Genesis designed to trace the scheme of redemption through the Bible. He continued that class when, at nearly seventy years old, he returned to East Gadsden in 1985 for another two and a half years in the pulpit. He left Adamsville with a standing invitation to return, which he accepted in mid-1987. Brother and sister Camp moved to Moody, Alabama (near Birmingham) where they spent the remaining years of their life together. His class at Adamsville continued through 1 Timothy chapter one, when he taught for the last time on May 5, 1991. He also preached that Sunday morning at Adamsville.  

Brother Camp wrote several books and tracts. He wrote regularly for brotherhood papers. He edited three papers. He was an annual favorite on the Freed-Hardeman and Lipscomb lecture programs for years, and he spoke regularly on many others. It is probably not possible to count how many meetings, radio programs and sermons he preached. The two works that brother Camp believed were his most important were the tapes of the Adamsville Bible studies, and his Monday preachers' classes. The classes began in 1955 at East Gadsden and moved as he moved from place to place through the years. The class met at Leeds for the last four years, and met for the last time on Monday, May 6, 1991. Three generations of gospel preachers were helped and encouraged by this class during the 36 years it met.

After open heart surgery in 1981, brother Camp enjoyed relatively good health during the last ten years of his life. He gave careful attention to exercise and diet. In the last two years, he experienced some difficulty with his sinuses that caused him to cancel some speaking engagements. He entered AMI Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham for lung surgery Monday, May 13, 1991. After the surgery, he remained in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for eight days. He died early Tuesday morning, May 21. His funeral was conducted at Munford Wednesday, May 22. His body was laid to rest in the family plot of the old Munford cemetery.

At the 1981 Freed-Hardeman College lectures, brother Camp was honored with an appreciation dinner. Many speakers told about different parts of his life, including his nephew Winfred Clark, to whom we are indebted for many of the early details of brother Camp's life related here. In his remarks at the end of the ceremony, brother Camp was typically humble, crediting his wife, family, friends, his preacher students, and congregations where he worked for encouraging him. He said he was grateful for what had been said honoring him, and that he wanted to lay that honor at the Lord's feet. He said, "My life's ambition is to be able to meet Jesus Christ the Son of God in the world beyond, and lay it all at his feet. . . I would be happy if you would forget about me, and think about the Savior, who came to live and die, and love, and teach us all what life is really about" We who lived with him, learned from him, and loved him will honor his request to give God the glory, but we will never forget Franklin Camp.

-- Michael B. McElroy, World Evangelist, Vol. 19, No.12, July, 1991, p.1,19,

Location of Franklin Camp's Grave

Franklin Camp is buried in the small town of his birth, Munford, Alabama. East of Birmingham take Exit 185, Oxford/Anniston Exit. Turn south and go 9.2 miles on Hwy. 21. Turn right on Main St. You will pass the Munford Church of Christ on the right.  Continue on Main St. cross the Railroad tracks and the road splits. Stay to the right, going down behind the old building facing the tracks. and turn right on Jennifer. God 2/10 miles on Jennifer and turn left on Cemetery Circle. Go to the second tree on the right, and the grave will be under the tree.

While in the area, be sure to visit the grave of Camp's nephew, Winfred Clark.

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