A Leader in Wilderness Ministry Development

Equipping you to lead transformational wilderness ministry

Long term support

We offer long-term relationships with our staff and invite you to join a global community of passionate ministry leaders.

Highest level of training

We give you the education and experience you need to lead a successful wilderness ministry.

Vision for ministry

We help you with a holistic vision for ministry to reach more young people with the Gospel.

Youth ministry leaders face significant challenges today.

Difficulty engaging young people in meaningful ways in a world full of distractions, busy schedules, and disconnection.
A lack of training, encouragement and support that helps them grow in their effectiveness.
Barriers to getting youth together including the recent challenges of Covid.

The team at the Wilderness Ministry Institute believes that transformational wilderness experiences, as a part of your youth ministry, can help you address these and other challenges, and impact more young people with the Gospel.

We have mapped out the way so you don’t have to.

Currently equipping leaders in over 40 countries.

We strive to provide all of this at the lowest possible cost.

We offer long-term relationships & support from our highly experienced staff.

We can guide you every step of the way.

Our Christ centered staff, who have over a hundred years of collective field experience, share your passion for helping young people encounter Christ in the wilderness. We will walk alongside you, train you, and empower you with a renewed vision for ministry that is Biblically based and applicable to your cultural context.

For a long time, I struggled as an isolated and burned out, young leader in an outdoor ministry in Latin America. That was until, God blessed me with a group of friends and mentors from Nexus/WMI who committed to walk with me, encourage me, and teach me. Today, I am still in outdoor ministry but with a better understanding of what really matters.

Efra, Costa Rica

The challenge for Romanian youth leaders is to compete for attention, to make the Gospel relevant and attractive to youth, and adapting to speak into a shifting culture. Though, our biggest challenge remains; to genuinely love youth and bring them to Christ through Biblical discipleship and Christlike models. WMI, to us, means friendship, time, and resources to equip us to meet those challenges and reach youth with the Gospel through the outdoors. WMI leaders are true models of what they share, lifetime friends and fun.

Emil, Romania

In our country, there are a lot of religious restrictions and a lack of resources. The team at WMI provided great training and tools we can use and helped us with equipment too. We now have a better understanding of outdoor ministry and are introducing dozens of young people to Jesus each year. We also have a more effective disciple-making process too.

Leader from Undisclosed Country

I have experienced the transformation myself when our friends from WMI invested in outdoor leaders in my country. We have seen how a few days of outdoor adventure can be a great setting for creating deep and meaningful relationships – where spiritual truth can be passed on. We have been equipped in many practical ways; they provided culturally sensitive support, guidance, and long-term friendship.

Honza, Czech Republic

We have felt the cooperation and interaction between WMI to be essential for the type of ministry that we serve in. They have helped us with a groundwork for our volunteers and staff, and most importantly helped us learn how to share the Gospel effectively.

Forest, Oregon, USA

The WMI team has taught us many practical skills at a very professional level. Our ministry is directly related to the mountains where safety is a critical part of building trust with young people. For this I am very grateful to the WMI team. We were blessed with very high quality educational training with young people outdoors and captured a vision of how creation can be used in spreading the Gospel.

Leader from Central Asia

Join us on the trail now.

Foundations of Wilderness Ministry

Build your skills through in-person training

Join our global community of wilderness ministry leaders

We share your passion.

At WMI we know that you want to reach as many students with the Gospel as possible. In order to do that you need to be able to build deep, meaningful relationships with them. You need to be able to teach them about God in a way that will impact them forever, and it needs to be done at a low cost. Doing this without the right resources and training is difficult and discouraging. At WMI, we believe that a high impact wilderness trip where young people can experience community, adventure, beauty, and ultimately God himself is the best way for you to ignite your youth ministry.

Our commitment.

We are committed to seeing competent and confident Christlike leaders like you trained and supported to lead young people in your community on life changing wilderness adventures. We believe that every young person should encounter their creator in His creation and we are committed to doing that at the lowest possible cost.

Getting started is easy! First, sign-up for our FREE online course and get acquainted with our material. Second, find an in-person training near you and come for a hands-on experience. Finally, join our growing global community of wilderness ministry leaders for the long-term support you need. 

So, grab your pack and get on the trail with us! Let us guide you and your vision to transform the lives of many young people in your community. Let’s work together toward the goal of seeing the whole world come to experience the power of Jesus Christ.