For Churches & Faith Communities

Your congregation is hungry for embodied discipleship.

We help you meet that hunger with theology, training, and the safety systems to actually take your people into the wild.

Compare training paths Book a 15-min call
The Problem

Your people are drowning in screens and starving for creation.

Faith communities everywhere feel it. The longing for a deeper, more embodied experience of Christ, one that can't be downloaded. The wilderness has always been one of God's primary classrooms. Most churches just don't yet have the systems, the training, or the theology to take their people there safely and formatively.

That's the gap we fill.

What We Offer

Custom training for your church. Annual immersion for individuals.

Two distinct ways to work with us, built for two distinct audiences. Same theology, same proven methodology, two different starting points.

Custom · Built for your church

Wilderness Ministry Training

Starting at $1,850 · One weekend → five days · At your church or Snoqualmie Pass

  • Custom-scoped to your church's stage, team, and theology
  • Wilderness theology, formation, trip systems, risk management
  • Real frameworks, real practice, tested across two generations
  • Hosted onsite at your church, or with us at Snoqualmie Pass
  • Discovery call to design the right scope and price
Book a discovery call
Annual cohort · With Richard Dahlstrom

Ancient Paths Certification Week

$350 per participant · 5 days at Snoqualmie Pass · Once per year

  • The full Ancient Paths curriculum, deep immersion format
  • Co-led by Richard Dahlstrom (founder) and John Wayne Seitzler
  • Cohort of individuals and small teams from multiple churches
  • Lifetime access to the WF content library
  • Certification on completion
Learn about AP Cert Week

Wilderness Ministry Training is the right starting point for a church that wants to build or strengthen its own ministry. Ancient Paths Certification Week is the right starting point for an individual or small team ready for the deepest immersion the Ancient Paths curriculum offers.

The Process

What working with Wilderness Formation looks like.

01

Discovery Call

15-minute conversation to understand your church and your hopes.

02

Custom Proposal

We recommend a training path, timeline, and scope tailored to you.

03

Training

Your team is trained in the WF methodology, ready to lead.

04

Ongoing Support

Content library access, peer coaching, and a community of trained churches.

Proof Points

Churches putting the methodology to work.

Leaders training in the wilderness
Flagship Case Study · Seattle, WA

Central Community Church → Outdoor Central

One beloved annual backpacking trip transformed into a thriving, year-round wilderness ministry serving 150 participants in its first year.

Read the full story →
Mountain sunrise
Recent Engagement · Jackson Hole, WY

Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole → Wilderness Together

A full-weekend ministry launch: leaders trained, congregation taught, vision preached. PCJH stood up Wilderness Together the same week.

See engagement details →
Not a church?

If you're an individual seeker, start here.

Wilderness Formation equips churches and faith communities. If you're an individual looking to experience wilderness ministry directly, our partners at Bethany Wilderness Ministry run Ancient Paths trips open to seekers and individuals across the Pacific Northwest.

Visit Bethany Wilderness Ministry →

Trips launching soon. Link goes live with the first cohort.

Ready to build a thriving wilderness ministry in your church?

Start with a 15-minute conversation. We'll listen, ask questions, and help you figure out whether wilderness ministry is right for your community, and which path fits.

Book a 15-min call