We train churches and faith communities to build thriving wilderness ministries. The methodology is rooted in theology, forged over decades of practice in the field, and used by churches and ministries across the country and beyond.
Two distinct ways to work with us, built for two distinct audiences.
Starting at $1,850 · One weekend → five days · At your church or Snoqualmie Pass
$350 per participant · 5 days at Snoqualmie Pass · Once per year
The final five sessions were fantastic. Teachable moments, trip logistics, stewardship and creation ethic, intro to risk management, trip and content creation.Haley E. Core Lead Wilderness Volunteer · Outdoor Central · Central Community Church, Seattle
Real congregations, real outcomes, real change in how people meet God in creation.
One beloved annual backpacking trip transformed into a thriving, year-round, multi-modal wilderness ministry serving 150 participants in its first year.
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A full-weekend ministry launch: leaders trained, congregation taught, vision preached from the pulpit. PCJH stood up Wilderness Together the same week.
See engagement details →Wilderness Formation isn't a consultancy. It's a renewed nonprofit with deep roots. The organization was founded in 1989 as Alaythia Fellowship by Richard and Donna Dahlstrom, beginning as a Bible school in the North Cascades that used God's creation as its classroom.
John Wayne Seitzler was voted in as Executive Director on September 20, 2021, and renewed the work as Wilderness Formation to bring this tradition to churches across the country. John Wayne brings his own wealth of experience: sea kayaking expeditions, mountain guide teams, and his current role as Pastor of Wilderness Ministry at Bethany Community Church in Seattle, where many of the rhythms WF teaches are tested in weekly practice. Richard, now Founder and Emeritus Board Member, continues to train and write alongside us.
The frameworks, safety protocols, and Ancient Paths rites of passage we teach didn't come from a textbook. They were forged across two generations of real ministry, in real terrain, with real people, season after season.
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We believe faith is an experience, not just a set of doctrines. Christ longs to reveal Himself through the text of God's good creation.
Christ longs to take us and our communities into a new depth of relationship through formative experiences in the outdoors.
Free tools, teachings, and primers used by hundreds of leaders considering wilderness ministry for their churches.
A 12-page introduction to wilderness ministry theology.
Get the primerWhat we actually stock for participants. A gear closet starter list.
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