The Ministry Hiding in Plain Sight
Why Adventure Sports May Be Your Church’s Most Effective Outreach Strategy
Why Adventure Sports May Be Your Church’s Most Effective Outreach Strategy
Last week, I spent every day at the hospital visiting one of our former volunteer leaders. He crashed his street motorcycle and spent days in a coma, then nearly two weeks in ICU. What happened next tells you everything you need to know about why adventure sports ministry works.
Twelve former volunteers—men who hadn’t ridden together in 10 to 15 years—immediately rallied. They’re praying for him daily. They’re visiting him in the hospital. They’re helping him navigate insurance complexities and figure out his next steps into assisted living since he can’t bear weight on either leg for 6-8 weeks.
These aren’t just acquaintances from a church program. These are sharp, white-collar executives with packed calendars who are prioritizing one of their own over every other demand on their time. The bonds formed on dirt bike trails fifteen years ago are proving stronger than most marriages, more enduring than most small groups, more mobilizing than most ministry programs.
That’s the power of adventure sports ministry. And your church has probably never heard of it.
The Outreach Crisis No One’s Talking About
Here’s what you already know: Your traditional outreach isn’t working like it used to. Your small groups are great for existing believers but rarely attract the unchurched. Your men’s ministry struggles to get men to show up. Your young families are overscheduled and under-connected. Your best attenders are aging, and you’re not seeing their adult children stick around.
And here’s the harder truth: There’s a whole demographic in your community—active, outdoor-oriented people who love adventure—who will never respond to your current outreach strategies. They’re not going to attend a pancake breakfast. They’re not interested in a small group study in someone’s living room. They don’t need another weekend seminar.
But they will climb a mountain with you. They will paddle a river. They will ride a trail. And somewhere between the trailhead and the summit, when their guard is down and God’s creation is all around them, they’ll actually hear the Gospel.
As Richie Johnston, one of our long-time dirt bike volunteers, put it: “The best part was being able to invite non-believers and have them see ‘church people’ are actually normal, and even cool. People would come who wouldn’t dream of stepping foot in a church. They were usually highly skeptical coming to a dirt bike riding ‘church event.’ Even the most resistant people were at very least surprised how ‘normal’ the people there were.”
What Is Adventure Sports Ministry?
Adventure sports ministry is exactly what it sounds like: using outdoor recreation and adventure sports to attract people to Jesus and attach them to His Church. It’s mountain biking and rock climbing and kayaking and camping and hiking and fishing—done intentionally as ministry, led by trained volunteers who love both their sport and their Savior.
It’s not a gimmick. It’s not “bait and switch” evangelism. It’s creating authentic community around shared passions, then watching God work in the context of His own creation. It’s recognizing that for many people, they experience God most powerfully not in a sanctuary but on a summit.
At Bayside Adventure Sports (www.BaysideAdventureSports.com), we ran this model for 25 years—from 1998 to 2023. We offered events in more than 16 different sports. We ran hundreds of events per year. We built a volunteer team of dozens of leaders. And we saw thousands of people encounter Jesus through adventures in His creation.
Why This Works When Everything Else Doesn’t
1. It Reaches People No Other Ministry Reaches
Steve Funk described his first experience with our surf ministry: “It really ignited my Christian walk and I felt such at home transitioning from Santa Cruz to Bayside Church. God is giving you such a gift to meet people through adventure sports and connect with them, especially men to do some sort of activity.”
Steve wasn’t going to show up at a men’s breakfast. But he showed up to surf. And that changed everything.
Think about the people in your community who mountain bike every weekend, who plan their year around ski trips, who spend their vacation days backpacking. Many of them are spiritual seekers. Some are burned-out Christians. Others have never set foot in a church. Traditional outreach will never reach them. But an invitation to join a Christian mountain biking group? That’s interesting.
2. It Builds Community That Actually Lasts
Brian Hughes, one of our kayaking volunteers, was reading a sociology book called “The Great Good Place” when I asked him for his testimony. The book examines how American culture has fragmented social life, how we’ve become alienated from the community cohesion that existed in times past. He wrote:
“As I continue to read through the book, I realize more and more that Bayside Adventure Sports checks all the boxes for getting out of isolation, developing a great community of friends, and it’s even been a support network through the tough times. Bayside Adventure Sports is a ‘Great Good Place.’”
Tina Wroblewski met four other couples through our trail running group. Years later, they still run together monthly. They gather for game nights, rotating houses. The women celebrate birthdays together and make Christmas cookies. “We were incredibly blessed to be part of Bayside Adventure Sports,” she said.
This isn’t superficial fellowship. When you summit a mountain together, when you navigate whitewater together, when you push through exhaustion together—you bond at a level that a weekly study can’t replicate. Friendships are like Lego blocks: the more connection points, the stronger the bond. When people share faith, family values, AND a passion for the same outdoor pursuits, the bonds are nearly unbreakable.
3. It Impacts Multiple Generations
Brian von Tress has been attending our annual ski trips for 14 years. He wrote: “What started as shared adventures became a second family. The relationships built through BAS have stood the test of time. In fact, men from these trips stood beside my son at his wedding—a powerful testimony to the lasting impact of this ministry.”
Then he added this: “These experiences helped me raise real men who love God and appreciate all He has given us. There is no better classroom than the outdoors to show sons the wonder of God’s creation. Some of our most meaningful conversations happened on chairlifts, around campfires, and overlooking mountain peaks.”
Ean Brown joined our dirt bike ministry at age twelve. Today, he’s leading trips himself, and now his own children are experiencing the same life-changing adventures. He wrote: “My own children are now experiencing the same life-changing trips that shaped my youth. Our favorite tradition is the twice-annual trek to Yerington, Nevada... It is the trip my kids ask about all year long.”
You can’t manufacture this kind of generational impact in a classroom. It happens in the dirt, on the trail, around the campfire—and then it reproduces itself naturally for decades.
4. It Makes Faith Tangible in God’s Creation
Dennis Tromburg, our mountain bike division leader, understood this intuitively: “Greg understood that worship should extend beyond the church building into the outdoors that God created.”
Stacey Hanson wrote: “Along the trails, around campfires, and in countless shared moments outdoors, I’ve seen the love of Jesus lived out in authentic and powerful ways. Whether it’s encouragement on a tough climb, laughter during a long hike, or meaningful conversations under the open sky, these experiences have had a lasting impact on my life.”
There’s something about being in creation that makes the Creator more real. The psalmist knew it: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). Adventure sports ministry simply creates the space for people to experience that truth—and to have spiritual conversations when their hearts are already opened by the majesty around them.
5. It Transforms Lives in Unexpected Ways
Chris Cardozo came to work with us during a pivotal season of his life. Years later, he reflected: “BAS created a space where faith wasn’t just talked about—it was lived out. Whether we were pushing ourselves physically, stepping outside our comfort zones, or having real, meaningful conversations, it brought everything back to what actually matters.”
Then he added something I didn’t expect: “Not long after, I met my wife, and today I have a family I’m incredibly grateful for. I give God all the glory in that—but you were absolutely an instrument in helping set that path in motion.”
Marcos Gonzalez came on a camping trip to Yosemite in 2015, fulfilling his dream of climbing Half Dome. That single trip led to three years of volunteering as a Spanish interpreter on Mexico mission trips, then an adventure to Machu Picchu with his daughter. He wrote: “Adventure Sports is more than just an outdoor club; it’s a community that has shaped my faith, my friendships, and my life’s purpose.”
You can’t predict these outcomes. You can’t program them. But when you create the conditions—authentic community, spiritual intentionality, shared adventure in God’s creation—transformation happens.
You’re Not Alone: The Innovation Movement in Evangelical Outreach
Adventure sports ministry isn’t an isolated experiment. It’s part of a broader movement of innovative outreach and discipleship happening across the country in cutting-edge churches and Christian organizations.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has long understood that meeting students where they are—in their context, their culture, their interests—is more effective than asking them to come to us. Campus Crusade (Cru) pioneered the idea that spiritual conversations happen best in the context of relationship and shared experience, not just formal presentations.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes recognized decades ago that athletes are a unique mission field that requires a unique approach. Christian Camping International has built an entire movement around the truth that something profound happens when people encounter God in His creation, away from the distractions of everyday life.
Organizations like Solid Rock Outdoor Ministry and others are demonstrating that wilderness experiences, adventure challenges, and outdoor recreation create powerful contexts for spiritual formation and evangelism.
Adventure sports ministry takes these proven principles and brings them into the local church context. It’s not replacing traditional ministry—it’s expanding the reach of the Gospel to people who will never be reached by traditional approaches.
What You’re Missing
I believe one reason only 20% of people in most churches do 80% of the ministry is because we’ve limited ministry opportunities to fit only about 20% of people’s gifts and passions. If you don’t want to work with children or youth, if you don’t sing well, if you don’t teach or host a small group, if you don’t want to usher at a service—there really aren’t many options to serve.
But what if the passionate mountain biker in your congregation could use his weekends to lead rides that introduce seeking friends to Jesus? What if the avid hiker could disciple new believers while ascending a trail? What if the skilled kayaker could create community that brings people to Christ and keeps them connected to your church?
You already have these people in your church. They’re sitting in your pews every Sunday, passionate about their sports, wondering how their outdoor pursuits connect to their faith. Most of them have given up trying to integrate these two loves. They do church on Sunday and adventure sports the rest of the week, never imagining these could be the same thing.
And in your community right now, there are hundreds—maybe thousands—of outdoor enthusiasts who will never darken the door of your church. But they would join a Christian hiking group. They would attend a fishing clinic led by believers. They would sign up for a camping trip where spiritual conversations happen naturally around the campfire.
The Question Before You
Here’s what I know after 25 years of doing this: Adventure sports ministry works. It reaches people no other ministry reaches. It builds community that lasts for decades. It impacts multiple generations. It makes faith tangible in God’s creation. It transforms lives in ways you can’t predict or program.
The question isn’t whether it works. The question is whether you’re willing to expand your vision of what ministry can look like.
Can you see the mountain biker in your congregation as a missionary to the trail system? Can you see the camping trip as a discipleship retreat? Can you see the kayak outing as an outreach event? Can you imagine God using your church’s passion for the outdoors to reach an entirely new demographic for Christ?
Richie Johnston said it best: “Church does not have to be in a building. I think it is best experienced outdoors. It is HUGE being able to reach people that would most likely never hear the gospel.”
He’s right. And right now, in your community, there are people who will most likely never hear the Gospel—unless you bring it to them on the trail, on the water, on the mountain.
The ministry is hiding in plain sight. The question is: Are you ready to see it?
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About the Author:
Greg Weisman served in youth ministry for 20 years and various pastoral roles at Bayside Church (Granite Bay, CA) from 1997-2023. He founded and led Bayside Adventure Sports from 1998-2023, growing it into one of the most effective outreach ministries at a megachurch of 30,000+ attendees. He now consults with churches across the country to help them launch their own adventure sports ministries. Learn more at www.g1outdoors.com