He preached that night upon the power and purpose of prayer and began by saying: “Prayer is the only way in which a sinner can ask God for pardon and in which a saint can commune with his Saviour. It is man’s way of talking with God and God’s way of hearing what men have to say. Prayer is the powder of the Christian soldier and by it victories are won for the Cross. * * *” There were many conversions that night. The meetings were continued until the end of the week. At the closing services the audience asked that each year at the same place and season open air union services be held. So in the summer of 1800, a great camp meeting was held and the pavilion was used as the rostrum. This was the first camp meeting ever held in Christendom and the practice was continued for many years at the Gasper River Meeting House and other places in Kentucky. The hallowing influence of “The Great Awakening” thus started, spread to other communities and eventually throughout the state and into northwestern Tennessee. Similar meetings were held by other preachers, at Masterson’s Station in Fayette County, Clark’s Station in Mercer, Ferguson and Chaplin chapels in Nelson, Level Woods (now Larue county), Brick Chapel in Shelby, Ebenezer in Clark, Grassy Lick in Montgomery, Muddy Creek and Foxtown in Madison, Mount Gerizim in Harrison, Thomas Meeting House in Washington (now Marion), Sandusky Station, now Pleasant Run in Marion, and Cane Ridge in Bourbon county. The first Gasper River camp meeting held in the summer of 1800 was attended by a great multitude and proved a success. Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian preachers were each given the opportunity to expound their particular doctrine. There were many conversions and among them several who in later years became distinguished preachers. In the early summer of 1801, Father Rice, James McCready and Calvin Campbell conducted a great camp meeting in the Cumberland country. Rumors of its success spread throughout Kentucky and many men rode weary miles through lonely forest trails to attend. Among those who came a great way, was Barton W. Stone. In 1796 he had been licensed by the Orange Presbytery of North Carolina. Soon afterwards, emigrating to Kentucky he settled in Bourbon county and occasionally preached for the Cane Ridge and Concord churches. He was ordained in 1798 by the Transylvania Presbytery and received a unanimous call to become the pastor of these two churches. Greatly impressed by the good work done at the camp meeting; filled with the spirit which took possession of all, the refined as well as the uneducated, he returned to his congregations and relating his experiences, fired them with the zeal of the meeting which yet inspired him; and by his preaching produced upon them the same effect, even to “the jerks,” or bodily demonstrations.