Developing students through cooperative partnerships in experiential leadership and outdoor ministry

I grew up in Northern Ontario and though I’ve lived in many places, I still think of the lake country West of Thunder Bay as home. Currently, I live in Mount Vernon, Iowa with my beautiful wife Jennifer and our children: Abigail Mae, Linden Joy, Meredith Kate and Peter Andrew. As a family we have all kinds of interests ranging from traditional string music to swimming and soccer to all things outdoors. The place we most enjoy being together is at our family wilderness retreat on Shebandowan Lake .

I studied at Northwestern College, majoring in history where I appreciated the strong emphasis in reformational worldview. I later did my graduate work at Wheaton College and completed an M.A. in Christian Formation and Ministry. In both places I spent time thinking about the ways people learn and particularly about how they learn to take on the character of Christ.

I’ve been interested for a long time about the ways that Christians choose to live and work together in community; the ways in which we develop convictions about this living and working. The place I have learned the most about these ideas and how they connect with my life has been in the wilderness classroom, where the harshness and beauty of wilderness blend to create an indelible print on a persons life–an imprint for faithfulness. This is how I have chosen to serve…by following these ideas about education and by continuing to offer Christ and His way in the context of wilderness and adventure settings.