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Different from mission trips or traditional church camps, wilderness ministry programs offer:
- The ability to spend focused, intentional time together as a group
- A retreat from the distractions of our over-connected lives (or 100% creation, 0% distractions)
- The sharing of Life Stories, where masks come off, facades drop and everyone gets real
- Deeper relationships – with Jesus and with each other
- More trust built within the group – carrying each others’ burdens physically translates into also doing so emotionally
- The opportunity to be more like Jesus – Jesus had a rhythm of retreat in His ministry, using the outdoors for renewal, teaching, trials, and trust-building
As a fellow pastor, mission leader, and dad, I want to share 7 reasons why youth pastors, men’s and women’s ministry leaders who want to be on the cutting edge of reaching the culture will prioritize wilderness trips:
1. In our ‘over-connected’ world, there is
a great need to escape to the wilderness – to places where God’s
creation is clearly evident and unscathed, and He can get our attention.
2. God’s creation of the wilderness offers unprecedented beauty and perspective.
3. Combating busyness with more programs
is not going to transform the souls of people. Developing Jesus’ rhythm
of retreat will.
4. Experiential learning offers natural
decision-making scenarios that teach young people how to avoid trivial
emotional distractions that can consume them. Wilderness journeys draw
out the best in people by confronting their fears and exposing the traps
of entitlement. The wilderness helps sever the entanglements that
strangle away God’s epoch vision for our lives.
5. When the stakes were high, the
Wilderness was one of God’s favorite instruments to make sure that
permanent community transformation took place.
6. Jesus chose a group of young people to
turn the world upside down, he used the wilderness as his primary
classroom, and he employed adventure to produce radical commitment
toward his mission.
7. If Jesus chose the wilderness as a
favorite setting to shape his disciples into dynamic leaders, then is it
not equally critical in our increasingly urban world for people to
encounter Him through wilderness adventure?
DON’T MISS OUT
With Outdoor Wisdom Leadership School, you have choices: you can bring your group with Christian teachers of your own who we will assist in incorporating outdoor challenges and experiences into their lessons, you can just show up and let us lead your group in your choice of topics and activities. Or if you are a church with an established youth ministry program, then please contact us about helping you launch a church-based outdoor ministry. Even if your youth ministry's requirements are beyond what OWLS now offers, get in touch with us anyway for help in locating the best existing high-quality programs that will meet the needs of your group.Thanks Ashley!
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