In 1898 the Pennsylvania Conference of the United Brethren in Christ Church first applied for the use of the Rhodes Grove land to host a summer camp meeting. The owners of the land, Mr. & Mrs. W. Lee Rhodes, lived a short distance away to the south, along the Pennsylvania Railroad. This family also owned the farm which later housed the Milton Wright Memorial Home just across the field from the Rhodes Grove.

The first services held by the United Brethren in Christ Church at Rhodes Grove were facilitated by a simple roofed structure over the speaker's platform. The audience was seated on planks supported at either end by a short post in the ground. A few of the more enterprising folks brought tents for overnight shelter but the majority found a place to stay as best they could. Due to limited traveling options, only the few living a short distance away were able to travel home between services.