Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a wilderness trip so effective at changing lives?
- Communication: (to share your heart, be heard, to listen to others, and to be known more intimately)
- Community: a sense of team work, skill development, decision-making skills (which is crucial for early adolescent development), a sense of belonging, serving one another.
- Adventure: The greatest adventure for any child of God (whether they know it yet or not) is to know God through Jesus Christ; to take pleasure in Him, realizing that He delights in you, and to ultimately choose a life of loyalty to Jesus Christ. Adventure forces us to drop our masks, it sheds lights on the shadows where we are hiding, and exposes our true nature and design, which is to be close with our Loving Father and to desire what the Holy Spirit desires which is contrary to our sinful nature.
- Encouragement: Having leaders who know how to invest in you as a young person in such a way that your potential for serving God is increased.
- Vision Casting: Gaining perspective on where you have been spiritually, where you are at the moment with God, and where you are going in the future.
- Teaching: We make our best effort to teach experientially like Jesus did, taking advantage of timing and setting to teach the Gospel and other Kingdom principles which relate to their lives in the pristine beauty of God’s Creation.
- Prayer: (Talking to God honestly, humbly, bluntly, and expectantly. Realizing that He listens to me. Learning to hear Him speak to me, and focusing my energy on listening to what He is saying to me)
Why would a church or ministry want to develop a wilderness adventure program?
- There is a biblical precedent that the wilderness has always been a special place where God has formed and shaped catalytic mission leaders, young and old.
- People function best on teams, and outdoor adventures are uniquely effective in forming community and team.
- We learn best through experience
- Think of the stories you and your group will tell for weeks if not months and years after the experience. Remembrance is a common theme in the Old and New Testaments.
How would I as a church or ministry leader implement this program and keep it running?
We provide excellent training on sustainability.
We provide ongoing training each year to keep skills fresh, while empowering your church or organization to develop your own style.
We believe it is important to collaborate with other like-minded churches or organizations in your area (if possible). Training together, sharing gear, etc., is a great way to maintain your ministry year after year. We have resources to aid you in this.
Can I use this trip as an outreach event or is it more beneficial as a discipleship tool?
- We believe it is effective for both audiences in the same way that Jesus spent 3 years with a group of young disciples who were all in process. Some got it quickly (like Peter, James, and John), and others took a while to really settle their lives on Christ alone as the Saviour (i.e. Thomas).
- We train outdoor leaders in the art of group dynamics, and how to prayerfully lead and share Biblical content with groups of varying spiritual interest.
- Outdoor adventures are a great forum for dialogue among Christian and non-Christian young people. Wilderness is the great leveler!