History of My Alaska Ministry Adventure
My genesis of ministry to Alaska began in the winter of 1984 with a group of 5 other men that were fellow staff members serving in the campus ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ. We were there to “spy out the land” with the intent of pioneering new campus ministries or other ministry opportunities for staff and students to invest in for future summer opportunities.
My first impressions on this trip would lead a lasting impression that has spanned 25 years of ministry outreach to the land of the “Midnight Sun.” Out of the original group of 6 staff men, 2 of us were impressed that we were being led to launch create some type transformation experience targeted specifically for men.
What took shape was the pioneering of a 10 week mission’s project that began in the summer of 1986. Students from around the country would to take part in similar Campus Crusade national and international projects. The difference with our project would be a focus on on what I called a 360 degree growth environment combination in the context of a spiritual greenhouse and boot camp experience. Specifically, students were required to raise their personal support and secure work for the duration of their summer. This would provide significant life skills that would serve them well for the rest of their lives.
Their community experience with other students and staff included a rich environment of biblical teaching, training, small group interaction and evangelistic and work project outreaches. The added dimension of targeted outdoor adventures including back packing, fishing, rafting and hiking made this an amazing life experience that was tough for students to pass up.
Over the course of the last 26 years hundreds of young men’s lives have been dramatically changed. A great validation to this defining time in their lives can be legitimized by the student testimonials etched on walls inside the bus that is pictured above. At the end of each summer beginning in 1996, students took the time at the conclusion of the project to reflect and/record the most significant impressions that marked their summer experience.
Reading these inscriptions can be a hallowed experience as one of my dear friends Kevin (guy holding fish) stated. One is struck with the redemptive work these men experienced that would set a different compass setting for the rest of their lives. A compass setting that would have Jesus as the true North Star that they would seek to whole heartedly follow.
