Wilderness Trail Rangers

Standing in the parking lot of LaFayette Street United Methodist Church after Wilderness Trail II L.B. Izzi cast a bold vision.  To Rob and Sarah and others enjoying the satisfying conclusion of the sole Summer 1989 event, L.B. said, “Wouldn’t it be great if another group arrived tomorrow and we got to do it all over again?”  Two events in one summer?  You can imagine this to be a challenging idea for the small group scattering the seeds of ministry from a kitchen table, Tupperware bins, and the Plastic Oddities, Inc. trailer.  There was no Property, no Staff, no true equipment supply – just a pastor and his wife, a highly committed group of supporters, and youth experiencing God in the wilderness.  And L.B. continued, “This is too good to keep to ourselves.”  It was that year that Wilderness Trail (formerly Wilderness Journey, formerly the LaFayette Street Hikers) incorporated as a North Carolina non-profit and that visionary leadership that led to the purchase of the Property in 1991… and the rest in history.

“This is too good to keep to ourselves.”

This phrase has stuck with us through the years because it resonates well with the Gospel.  As recipients of the Good News we become bearers and sharers of those glad tidings of great joy.  As those who have encountered God on Holy Ground we become the bushes ablaze for others by bearing one another’s burdens.  As members of Christ’s body having found our place in the rope circle we seek to widen that circle and welcome others to the journey.

WT Rangers are infected first and foremost by this divine grace.  Like volunteers, donors, servant leaders, Junior Staff, or Staff, serving as a WT Ranger is a response to and a movement within God’s grace.  Considering the ministry too good to keep to ourselves, WT Rangers spread the invitation for new communities of faith to come and join the journey with Wilderness Trail.

What do WT Rangers do?

1. Share your WT experience – pictures, stories, insights, bruises, and blisters
2. Share WT’s ministry and upcoming events – DVD, brochure, website, registration, packing lists
3. Connect new folks with the Program Director

Rangers Ride

Rangers reach out to new communities to share their WT stories, share WT’s ministry story, and connect them to WT directorship for future events.  In the spirit of Wesleyan itinerant ministry – taking the Gospel on horseback o’er fields, floods, rocks, hills, and plains – each now contact is designated as a “ride.”  There are rides for friends – a youth hiker invites a friend and their youth group, a hiker invites co-worker and their family.  There are rides for family – a youth hiker invites their siblings and parents, a family invites another family.  There are rides for organizations – a ranger reaches out to a new pastor, a new church, a new youth director, a new children’s home.

How does a Ranger Ride?

  1. Share your Wilderness Trail Experience

Set aside a time and space with your contact to share your pictures, stories, Holy Grounds, Little Foxes, memories, and experience of WT.  Tell what happened in your group over the course of the event.  Tell what the experience meant to hikers as they returned home.  Share the flow of the opening and closing retreats.  Describe a day on the trail.  Talk about the food.  Talk about campfires and quiet times and the spiritual focus.  Talk about the hiking.  Share about the group dynamic.  Share how you and others’ experienced God through the week.  See if they have any questions!

  2. Share Wilderness Trail’s Ministry and Upcoming Events

• Share the Basics – What is backpacking?  Hiking groups, campsites, trail, routes, tents, etc.  Retreats with trail, group, and spiritual preparation.
• Share Worship – retreat sessions and talks, the Outdoor Chapel and communion, Little Foxes, Holy Ground, Quiet Times, Footwashing
• Share our Beloved Traditions – Secret Friends, Security, Order of the Black, Salad Bar?
• Share our History, Property, and Staffing – Who we are, Where we are, How we became
• Share Upcoming Event Opportunities – Event Dates, Registration Forms 

 3. Connect

There’s no pressure to sign, seal, and deliver… there’s nothing Dan Baker and the seasonal directors love more than following through on the contacts you provide us and equipping new folks for God-centered wilderness adventure.  The connection you take responsibility for is twofold:

1. First is the Ranger connection.  Let your connection be genuine.  Your best contacts are people you already know and who already know you love Wilderness Trail.  We know from trail experience that stories are best shared over meals or sitting around a fire.  So we are not interested in mass emails or handing off packets of information.  We want to connect through the quality of your stories and by walking new folks through the images, ideas, facts, and figures that will effectively communicate our ministry and their opportunities to tie on.  Thus WT Rangers are at their best in a face-to-face sit-down, sharing a meal, cup of coffee, or glass of lemonade.  Connect genuinely by taking this time and then by following up with a word of thanks and an offer to field further questions/comments/concerns.
2. Second is connecting with WT Directorship.  Tell the new folks to anticipate hearing from Dan Baker, the Program Director, or another WT Director to follow up on your conversations.  Then provide us with information and progress on your new rides via the Ranger Report.  This user-friendly online form will help us gather basic data and enough detail on your ride for a seamless transfer of communication. 

The Ranger Report

Click Here

Remembering the Ranger Report can help you imagine and plan for the ride.  Your feedback on your Ranger experiences will vitally shape and reshape the Ranger Report over time and usage.  

To Get Started

Email Dan Baker Today!

Celebrate! – Ranger Rewards

The work of WT Rangers is marked with JOY for additions to the WT family, JOY for these newfound Holy Grounds, and JOY for each step taken with a purpose as friends – old and new – live out the WT logo.

And so for Rangers who go on 5 full rides we’ll celebrate by giving them the WT Ranger sticker at their next event.  For Rangers whose rides result in new participants at WT weekend or summer events, we’ll celebrate by passing along the group picture, some Holy Grounds, and stories from that journey.  We’re considering other rewards for WT Ranger rides and welcome your suggestions of how best to celebrate with you!

Ranger!

Ranger is a fun word to say.  Especially in alliterative instances it rumbles and rolls our of the mouth with relative delight.  Should you like to add to the “R”-centric list of Ranger vocabulary, contact Dan Baker at your earliest convenience.

Rangers, Ride On!