The Station is a dream created from the heart of God, a seed that was dropped into the heart of a thirteen year old girl, whose life was unstable. Camp had become a refuge for Rachel Bowman, a safe place through her teenage and college years. She encountered God’s peaceful love and glimpses of hope for her future, at a youth camp in the High Sierra Mountains of California. Rachel could ‘be a kid’ at this super fun camp; the weight of her life circumstances seemed to disappear as she ventured into the wilderness every summer and winter for a week filled with camp joy! It was in this sweet place of refuge, where God began to cultivate a dream within Rachel’s heart, to start her own camp someday. It took over 25 years for this dream to be 'released' and become a reality!  

At first, this dream camp seemed impossible. Rachel and her husband, Peter, watched Jesus provide miracles, as they took steps of faith to start their little camp. When Rachel and Peter Bowman founded The Station in 2008 in Mammoth Lakes, CA, they connected to the heart of God for a young generation. Their vision statement, ‘Forever Changed, Never the Same’, became the core mission of their camp, for every camper and for all staff members. Recognizing that circumstances, traumas, and disappointments can create cracks in life foundations, both of our founders knew that only Jesus could change lives forever.

Peter and Rachel had already experienced this healing and redemption, when Jesus brought freedom and wholeness to each of their lives when they were young adults. Then, years later, God made a way for the dream in their hearts to become a reality, when they opened the doors of The Station Camp.  

For a decade, Rachel and Peter collaborated with Jesus to bring health and wholeness to the foundations in the lives of youth and young adults. They came alongside hundreds of young people; hearing their stories, walking a process of healing with many, instilling life skills, and pouring wisdom into each person. Many were launched into healthier seasons of life, where they could go after the dreams that God planted in their hearts!