AdventureServe Ministries (ASM) has partnered with Asbury University to lease the Challenge Course for this year.
In this partnership, according to Asbury’s Provost Office, ASM will steward and operate the Challenge Course, preserving its legacy, ensuring safe and responsible use and extending its impact consistent with Asbury’s mission of Christ-centered formation and experiential learning. The terms of the lease will be reviewed and renewed on an annual basis.
Although the partnership for the course is relatively new, Asbury has longstanding connections with ASM. AdventureServe has worked alongside Asbury for years, running programs for student groups, intercultural students and campus ministries.
“Many of our staff and leaders have facilitated experiences there long before this partnership existed,” said Brice Burton, Executive Director of ASM. “So, while we’re now stepping into formal stewardship of the course, the style of programming and the kind of impact it creates are very familiar to us.”
As a result of the long relationship with Asbury, and the unutilized Challenge Course, AdventureServe saw an opportunity to expand their mission of community service and stewardship.
“When Asbury made the decision to wind down the Adventure Leadership program, there was a natural question of what would happen to the Challenge Course,” said Burton. “Rather than see something so meaningful sit unused, Asbury leadership invited us into a conversation about stepping in to steward it; because of the trust already built between our organizations, it made sense to partner together so the course could continue to serve students and the community instead of going dormant.”
With AdventureServe Ministries being a faith-based organization in Wilmore, and with their goal of combining outdoor adventure activities with community service projects, the partnership felt natural.
“Honestly, the Challenge Course fits right at the heart of what AdventureServe has always been about,” explained Burton. “Our mission is to help people grow in leadership, faith and community through outdoor adventure; that’s exactly what this course was designed to do.”
As of now, ASM plans to use the course for numerous programs, including Asbury student groups and campus programs, leadership development events, youth group and church retreats, school and college teams, corporate and community service team-building and ASM’s own summer and after-school programs.
“Our hope is that students will see this as a resource they can actually use, not just something tucked away in the woods,” said Burton. “If a club, class or organization wants a powerful team-building experience, we want to help make that happen.”
Despite the Challenge Course having an annual lease, ASM sees this as “definitely a long-term fit.” The Challenge Course allows ASM to increase the number of groups and to “create a sustainable program that supports our broader ministry.”
“When students step onto a course like this, they’re not just climbing ropes–they’re learning to trust teammates, face fears, communicate clearly and discover strengths they didn’t know they had,” said Burton. “That kind of growth lines up beautifully with Asbury’s mission of Christ-centered formation.”As ASM starts settling into the new edition of the Challenge Course, they invite students to come engage with the courses. Whether students are interested in attempting the courses with their clubs, or becoming a summer staff or facilitator, ASM encourages them to reach out at AdventureServe.org.
