Located just outside Heritage Circle and near the Village of Yesteryear sits a historic chapel that N.C. Campers on a Mission uses each year to minister to traveling fair workers and provide basic supplies. The chapel was originally used as the sanctuary of the Ephesus Baptist Church. The one-room wooden structure served Ephesus from 1857 to 1927, then transferred to Lincolnville, A.M.E. congregation and relocated to Nowell Road in Raleigh. The building served the congregation until 1982, when Lincolnville constructed a new building. In August of 1983, the chapel and original pews were purchased and moved to the fairgrounds to be part of Heritage Circle.
For more than 30 years, the North Carolina chapter of Campers on a Mission has anchored its largest mission project at the N.C. State Fair. Year-round, the organization collects supplies through area churches and the Raleigh Baptist Association in order to provide some basic necessities for life on the road.
For some, basic supplies can be hard to come by and even small items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, canned soup, deodorant, peanut butter and grape jelly are welcomed by fair workers. Along with providing supplies for fair workers, volunteers also fellowship with the workers and lend a listening ear.
Campers on a Mission is a nationwide organization that offers Christians of all denominations the opportunity to fellowship and serve beyond their church walls. In addition to its fair ministry, organization members volunteer at Baptist Children’s Homes, street festivals and building projects.
Stop by the 165-year-old chapel to catch a variety of daily entertainment provided by Campers on a Mission. Performances are scheduled daily at 12:30, 1:45, 3 and 4:15 p.m., plus church services on Sunday mornings at 8:30 and 11 a.m.
