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 Dunbar First Baptist Church has a long tradition of Church Camping. We have sponsored and conducted this annual event for over fifty years. Our camp is held at the West Virginia Baptist Camp at Cowen, WV, in scenic Webster County. The camp is situated on several hundred acres deep in the Gauley River Valley. Campers stay in rustic cabins and experience a week in the beauty of God's creation. The camp has full dining and bath facilities, as well as a variety of worship spaces and recreational activities. Camp is open to students from those who have completed the first grade to those who have completed the eleventh grade. Currently, our camp occurs annually around the second week of August. The week is always a wonderful growth experience for campers and counselors alike. God truly changes lives during camp.
About the Camp
The West Virginia Baptist Camp at Cowen is maintained by the West Virgina Baptist Convention. The camp is open from mid-May to the end of August each summer. The majority of the weeks during the summer are Convention-sponsored and organized State Camps, varying by age group and purpose. Only three weeks belong to local entities: two local church associations in the state and our camp. Currently, our week in the camp schedule falls from Sunday to Friday during the first full week of August. We have had this week for two years.
The camp is staffed year-round by a full-time caretaker (and if I might editorialize here - a miracle worker). During the camping season, a permanent director of camping resides on the premises. The director, Lee Boso, along with a summer staff of young adults from throughout the state, make sure the camp is running smoothly during the summer months. The camp also employs a food service staff.
The facilities at Camp Cowen are superb (for a rustic summer camp). Sixteen rustic cabins provide the sleeping accommodations. Each cabins equipped with at least eight sets of bunk beds, each with a twin mattress. The cabins have electric, thus there are lights, heaters, and a ventilation fan. There is of course no air-conditioning. Usually, counselors bring fans to assist in cooling the cabins; however in this mountain climate, the cabins are rarely uncomfortable (at least in the opinion of this twenty-one year veteran). The camp has two main shower houses, one in the boys' cabin area and one in the girls'. These bathhouses have restroom facilities, multiple sinks, mirrors, individual showers with individual changing areas, and HOT and cold running water (and yes the water is hot and usually lasts).
Campers eat in a large dining hall. The meals are comparable to school food service (but are served with more love) and are usually well liked by most campers. Campers eat three hot, prepared meals per day. Cereal is available in the mornings along with a hot meal. A salad bar is available most of the time during lunch and dinner. During free time and in the evening, the camp store opens. The store sells concession stand-style items (candy bars, candy, soda, ice cream, chips, etc.) as well as t-shirts, hats, and a few other odds and ends. Campers use their own money at the store. Money is banked at registration. Campers merely tell the store clerk who they are, and then their purchases are deducted from the money they banked. At the end of the week, the balance is returned to the camper (the clerks will not let campers over spend their accounts). The purchase of a camp group photo comes out of this money, as well. Campers are asked at registration if they wish to purchase a photo.
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