A Christian Ministry
in the National Parks

By Alyssa Akers

KINGS CANYON, California—I just got home from work. After changing out of my uniform, I sit down on a recliner-shaped rock about 20 feet above the ground. I don’t have a television here, so I listen to a chorus of birds in surround-sound and watch a hawk soar over the forest of trees as clouds change shape above my head.

After I finish this article, I’ll probably go down to my cabin and start figuring out the music for this week’s church service, or begin thinking about tonight’s Bible study, or, most likely, hang out with my primarily non-Christian co-workers.

This is my second summer volunteering with an organization called A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP). When I first heard about it, it sounded too good to be true. ACMNP places college and seminary students, couples, retired individuals and just about anyone older than 18 who can spare three months to work and do ministry in a national park. You are guaranteed a job with the park concessionaires and receive Sundays off to provide park guests, residents and employees with opportunities for Christian worship.

ACMNP is an interdenominational organization recognized by more than 40 denominations. About 250 participants in more than 35 national parks provide often the only worship services for miles for thousands of people each summer. Most parks have a few locations for services with about five to seven ACMNP volunteers at each location, providing strong Christian support in a secular environment.

Aside from the formal ministry on Sundays, every day provides an opportunity for informal ministry. Word spreads fast as to who is on the ministry team and people watch to see if they practice what they preach or if they become exclusive and judgmental toward their less-than-perfect co-workers. It’s this aspect of the ministry that truly changes lives.

Maybe on a hike with the dishwasher you’ll discover why she’s grown to hate the church, or sitting by the lake with the night porter you’ll find out his beliefs about creation and maybe have a chance to share your own.

Through ACMNP, you get the opportunity to change the lives, or at least the perceptions of Christianity, of those around you.

In the meantime, your life, or at least your perceptions of the world around you are changed. You learn to understand the beliefs of those around you while strengthening your own. You learn how to get along with almost anybody. You learn how to survive with a lot less than you once thought possible. You learn that even you can preach a sermon (hey, if I can…). You learn how to truly appreciate God’s handiwork, both in the physical creation around you and in the hundreds of people you will meet.

If this sounds like a ministry opportunity or summer job you might be interested in, visit www.acmnp.com on the web or call 1-207-865-6436.

While you do that, I’m going to find a way off this rock, grab a can of Spaghetti-O’s, and see who’s hanging out tonight. Who knows what amazing, subtle things God is doing in the lives of those around me that I can’t see now, or maybe even after I leave Kings Canyon. But I know he’s working, not only in them, but in me.

Alyssa Akers is a junior at Azusa Pacific University.

     
SERVICE IN NATIONAL PARK—Alyssa Akers (right, right photo) plays music at outdoor service in Kings Canyon National Park [Photos by Mike Arguien]

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