If it’s not a children’s pastor’s event – some ask me why I limit it to children’s pastors (or CM professionals). It’s a fair question. It is because I believe that there are unique challenges that we face as men in children’s ministry that only children’s pastors understand and we need each other to face and overcome them.

I’ve faced many of them (not always victoriously) and created this event as a way to share what I’ve learned and provide a safe and unique opportunity for men to come together – unplugged from both the demands of ministry and the busy pace of life (and electronics!) to face some things they may have never faced before and come away with a totally new perspective on themselves, their families and their ministries.

Yosemite Summit changes men in ways you can’t understand until you’ve been here. And it is only open to a very small group of men each year. And every year, I’ve had one or two come back – which is the highest compliment I can get, that it is a powerful event. Much of the feedback is too personal to post on this blog. Though some have shared. In these posts:

Why I’m Going Back – Brent

Why I’m Returning to Yosemite Summit – Pat

If you page back through this blog you will find many quotes from the guys who have been on this event – and how it has impacted their life, and I will be posting more from last year in the weeks ahead. But here is one that truly blessed me from this year from a Summiteer who asked to remain nameless, but that is typical of the e-mails I receive from the guys who have joined me on this trip – but let me say first – the credit for God working on Yosemite Summit does not go to me. I start each Summit letting the guys know, I am not the leader, just the inviter, facitator and organizer – after that, I am a fellow participant with them. After all, I created this event after discovering how much I needed this myself. God is our Host, Jesus our Guest Speaker and the Holy Spirit is our Guide.

The final quote I wanted to share:

Thanks for giving me a place where I could hear the voice of God and thanks for helping me change my life.  Yosemite Summit will be a major defining moment in my life, that as long as I live, I will see Yosemite Summit as the single event that allowed me to look inside my life and see what needs to change to make a difference in the lives of my wife and my kids. Indebted to you for life because Yosemite Summit made a difference that I have needed for so long.  Living Yosemite Summit each day from here on.

- A Yosemite Summiteer, 2010

There are only 8 spots for Yosemite Summit and THREE have already been verbally spoken for, for the 2011 Summit. Registration will be openning September 1st. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this life-changing event.

Here is a Yosemite Summit Wallpaper to help inspire you. (1600 x 1200 719kb)

Mark your calendar for May 22-26th, 2011.

I already have several verbal commitments, so when Registration Opens at the new lower price subsided by the Kidology Foundation this year, be ready to sign up!

The rest of the site is NOT updated yet – only the dates at the top of the site. But be sure to check out the 2010 Report, and the 2009 and 2008 while you are at it.

This is your opportunity to rest and get away. You know you’ve been needing to do it. Don’t put it off another year. There is no guarantee this will be here every year. Who knows? Maybe I’ll make #4 my grand finale!

(Remember, click any image to view larger!)

The Yosemite Summit 2010 Gang!

This year Yosemite Summit came for me in the midst of a very busy schedule, which is why I haven’t been able to do a report for over a month. In fact, had it not been for Yosemite Summit, I would not have ever slowed down! Which is exactly why Yosemite Summit exists, as I wrote about in Built in Pit Stop. Before Yosemite Summit, there were seasons in my life when I didn’t ever slow down! Yosemite Summit has taught me to slow down, in fact, it has taught me the power of stopping. Actually, Yosemite Summit played a major role in my moving my family to Colorado so I could live a state where the pace is slower and where stopping is easier… though I am still learning to apply it on a monthly basis. If you are a kidmin professional in Colorado, ask me about my Colorado Hiking Club, The Fellowship of the King!

This year’s Summit brought together seven guys from around the country. Two returned from last year, which is always encouraging. We didn’t fill the event, and I’m sure that the economy had an impact as this isn’t an inexpensive endeavor. So right up front I want those reading this who would have liked to come, that I have asked my board of directors to allow Kidology to subsidize this retreat in 2011 at a loss so that it can be more affordable. That’s right – I’m willing to lose money so that this ministry to children’s pastors can be more accessible to the men who need this retreat. So when registration opens in August, you will see a new lower cost for registration. The cost to Kidology is the same – but the cost to attend will be lower!

Yup, we had our first official meal at the Iron Door Saloon!

Every year I learn from the previous years, and this year I had us start out earlier on Sunday so we could have lunch at the historic Iron Door Saloon – a very cool restaurant. This 102 year old Saloon has a lot of fun history and a ceiling covered in one dollar bills! The secret to getting one up there, we learned, was wrapping a bill around a quarter and a thumb tack and throwing really hard. We proved terrible at it! The advantage to our early start was that we were able to get on to Yosemite early – only to be greeted by rain and at the usual “first stop” glimpse of Half Dome, it wasn’t even visible!

Because of the rain, we decided to cancel our planned hike to Inspiration Point, and just do a tour of the Valley from the inside of our van, and just hope for some dryness the next day. I hide my acute disappointment from the guys reminding myself that planning a hike on Sunday was an “extra” – we’d never hiked on Sunday the previous two years, so we weren’t really losing anything, though I had really hoped to this year, and we had worked so hard to get here early. The “planner” in me was so frustrated, but I just kept praying and asking God to help me release trying to control this event, and let Him handle the details.

After touring the Valley (something we usually don’t get to do on Sunday, so that was nice) we continued on to our goal of Tunnel View on the way to the lodge and met with another obstacle! Due to an accident, the Tunnel was closed “until further notice.” This meant the only route to our lodge was cut off! We had nothing to do, but… hike up the trail to Inspiration Point since the trail head just happens to be at Tunnel View. Since the rain was spotty, and we were stuck, we figured we had nothing better to do, and sitting in the van wasn’t what any one wanted to do, so a hiking we went!

And God was in it! The rain cleared, and we had a spectacular hike that we probably would not have done had the tunnel been open, due to the rain, and the views where spectacular… as were the rainbows:

Yosemite Valley with an El Capitan Sized Rainbow

I have told the guys every year, that each year God does something unique to make each Yosemite Summit special – and already, even before we reached the lodge, He was doing it! We were getting rainbows as tall as El Capitan! And in the waterfall of Brideveil Falls:

Brideviel Falls with Rainbow

It was truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen – to see such splendor with my own eyes on display, like God was just painting on the canvas of his Earth. As I have said a thousand times… Yosemite is where God shows off, and He was doing it on this day! And here’s the amazing thing. After God gives us this amazing hike to Inspiration Point and the spectacular rainbows on the way down, the Tunnel is open again and there is no sign of any back log. It’s like God closed it so we would do the hike. (Granted, there is a lot more going on in God’s economy than just our little retreat, I’m aware of that, but He worked sovereignly through whatever else was going on, to help make our retreat even better.)

Summiteers Ready for the Mist Trail to Nevada Falls

Due to unseasonably cold weather and snow, this was the first Summit where Glacier Point Road was closed. That meant no upper Yosemite hikes – a bummer, but it also meant some new trails we’ve not tackled before, and I was excited about that. But we started out with the classic favorite of Yosemite, the Mist Trail. However, if you know Yosemite, you know “Mist” is an understatement!

The Guys at the Top of Nevada Falls

This is a hefty hike, but well worth it! But don’t worry wives, we never do anything dangerous or risky!

Scott attempting a short cut

This next picture has a funny story to it. From the top, I thought it was a huge solid boulder. I went out on it, sat down, and planned to do my devotional reading. Due to the view, I asked fellow Summiteer Brent to take my picture, which he did. And then he said, “I’m not leaving until you get off that rock.” I honestly thought to myself, ‘What’s his problem? It’s just a rock, so what if its near the water? Now I can’t read here.” But got off the rock for his (wimpy) peace of mind. It wasn’t until I was going through his photos later and saw this and asked him, “Was this when you said you wouldn’t leave until I got off that rock?” Funny thing, perspective!

Me Standing on Diving Board?

But now I am faced yet again with the challenge of “reporting” on Yosemite Summit? How do I describe this event to those who were not there? How can I give you a taste through words or pictures of something you need to experience to truly understand?

Brent relaxing by Merced River

How does one describe sitting and relaxing by a river – that feeling of all your worries, all your responsibilities, all your to-do and must-have-dones just flowing down stream? One of my favorite moments of Yosemite Summit is on Saturday evening when I say to all the guys “Your Fired.” I get to be Donald Trump for a moment and release them from their ministry. I give them permission for the next several days to no longer be a pastor. They are invited to just be a child of God. A husband. A dad. And nothing more.

Pat leaning on a rock leaning on The Rock

You might be able to imagine what it’s like to not DO your job for a few days… but at Yosemite Summit, you are challenged to not even think about it – to not talk about it – to not even pray about. To completely release it as though you are no longer a children’s pastor. because as far as God is concerned, you aren’t for those days. He just wants YOU.

Scott feeding the wild life

The squirrels are nuts in the public eating areas! We had fun feeding them. You might remember the video from my sabbatical of them climbing up on me as I feed them!

Travis makes a friend

These little guys are fearless! I was having fun getting pictures of the squirrels with the other guys… but I made a tragic mistake in doing so! I left my sole cookie unattended! We pack light for these hikes, so I packed only ONE cookie for the entire day, and I am still holding a grudge against the squirrel that grabbed my ENTIRE GIANT COOKIE and ran off with it!

The EVIL Squirrel that STOLE my Cookie!

But the hike must go on! After the Mist Trail, we still had a forecast of a huge storm heading into Yosemite, so on the next day, we did something new, I gave each of the guys a “Free Day” in the Valley. Some did Mirror Lake (especially those who were new to Yosemite) and I attempted Upper Yosemite Falls, with proved to be the most difficult hike I’ve ever done. Due to the difficulty and stopping so often for photography, I didn’t make it to the top, but I made it to the last spot you can see the falls – after that hikers told me there was little to see for another hour and I knew I wouldn’t make it there, and back down by our meeting time, so I chose a slow descent so I could enjoy it. Pat and Travis, however, made it not only to Upper Yosemite Falls, but beyond to Yosemite Point! So I promised here in the report to declare them the Highest and Fastest Yosemite Summit Hikers in Yosemite Summit History! That is a climb of 2625 feet in one day! Pretty amazing! Everyone seemed to enjoy the freedom of the second day, so I think we will definitely do that again.

The highlight for me is always spotting bears! The first year, it was something of a God Thing as I was looking for a bear the entire trip, as you can read about in this post: A Prayer Bearly Answered

Yosemite Brown Bear (technically a black bear)

Last year, we saw a bear, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting, since it was digging through the garbage at Glacier Point, but hey, a bear’s a bear, right? Let’s not get picky!

So this year, I started out praying that again I’d get to see a bear, and I think God just decided to bless my socks off and get it out of the way right away with not one, but TWO! In fact, later, we’d hear of bear sightings and just go, “yeah, yeah,” and drive on by! But before that, I would chase into the woods after them to get picks!

The one above was our first bear (I call him brown, but ALL bears in Yosemite are black bears… yeah, the dangerous type!) The second one, everyone was photographing and you couldn’t get a good shot, so I just decided to be patient. Eventually, he ran off into the woods and I followed. Yeah, I know. He jumped up into a tree. I have photos of all this too. I walked right up to him, talked softly to him, and then got some great pictures. Here is one of them. Then I thanked him and left.

The Black Bear I followed up into a Tree

When I got back to the van, the guys asked me if from now on, I would please at least leave the van keys behind when I did this sort of thing!

Can you spot the bear in this picture?

The bear in this picture I managed to capture! I got pictures of him all over Yosemite! I then brought him home and gave him to my son. Not sure if the Yosemite Rangers would approve, but I wanted my son to have something from Yosmite – we named him Yobear. You can see all the pictures of Yobear in this Facebook Album.

On the Hike that Shall Not be Named

However, it was on the third full day that we began what would be the highlight of the trip for me, for we discovered what I believe is the GEM of Yosemite National Park. We had planned to go to Hech Hechy, but due to the impending storm – we had to choose something else. We considered several alternatives… but I settled on a hike I had read about and researched, one that many hikers claimed was the “best kept secret of Yosemite.” It was a risk to lead my group on something unproven, but since it promised few tourists, and our goal is solitude and worship, I decided it was worth the risk. BOY OH BOY! Did we hit the nature treasure chest! And I plan to help KEEP it the best kept secret of Yosemite!

Therefore, I will not be posting the name of this hike or trail on this website. Don’t get me wrong. I am more than happy to share the name of the hike with anyone who asks me, I just don’t want to post it for random web surfers to save the trail for sincere hikers. But this trail is AMAZING! It is moderately easy to hike – has non-stop cascading waterfalls – beautiful scenery – wandering animals – beautiful landscape as far as the eyes can see – and no one else to share it with! And at the summit (which only two other Summiteers joined me at!) is the most wonderful, beautiful land of the lost of rivers and waterfalls and trees and… oh, boy. It’s indescribable. Let me just show you some pictures.

Part of your journey is through lush forests

Hiking through lush forests where it is so peaceful and never did we see another hiker…

There are these amazing stone stair cases

Then at times we climbed stone stair cases like out of Lord of the Rings overlooking a valley to our left, it was incredible!

The waterfalls just never end

It was just waterfall after waterfall, many you could walk right up to and put your hands right into them!

Water falls you can walk right up to

While the elevation gain was significant, the climb never felt steep, as the trail would wander off into the woods to make the ascent more gradual and moderate unlike the switch backs of the Yosemite Valley which can be brutal and steal from the enjoyment of hiking.

The Waterfall that Shall Not be Named

These waterfalls are more of a system of falls than merely one fall that an entire hike is built around. Just incredible!

Travis Looking Out Over the Scenery

The trail is clear, and yet there are many places to wander off the trail to get a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.

Wild life greeted us as we hiked

The wild life did not seem concerned at all to see us and simply stood still and looked at us as we took pictures and then walked by.

The power of these falls was amazing

There was an entire system of falls right way, so there was an early reward for hiking, then we had lunch by another system of falls, and then at our destination, there was even more falls, and finally, at the Summit there is rivers to wade it and even more falls when we travel farther in 2011 then we were able to this year. (There was rain and hail coming, and most of our group turned away 100 feet short of the summit and only myself and two guys got to actually see the summit this year. It was a huge surprise we didn’t even know was there! Next year, I am planning extended time up at the summit.)

Chillin' out along the way

The trail was simply beautiful and enjoyable and as I said, moderate and not nearly as difficult as many of the Valley trails.

A river that will soon drop to the valley below

You can not see it here in this picture, but getting on to this rock, I was a little nervous, for the big rock was slick, and that river flows just a little ways and then drops a loooooong way to the valley below! We are at the very summit WAY up top of a huge mountain we hiked all day to arrive at. The day was overcast and it would be raining and hailing by the time we were hiking down. It was a bummer not to be able to stay up there longer – but to have discovered such an incredible place was an amazing GIFT from God to me, and to the Guys of Yosemite Summit 2011! As we will be leaving EARLY one morning, hiking up there, making a camp fire, cooking up hot dogs, and spending the day up there, and spending an incredible Day with God on this Summit!

It was on the hike up to this Summit that God spoke to me about some things in some very clear and precise ways, and on the way down that that He and I did some business about some stuff we’ve been wrestling with.

God speaks in unique ways at Yosemite Summit – in ways that He often can’t in any other context. As we were hiking down the mountain on this final day, one of the guys shared with me that he was feeling the heavy weight of the burden of his own sin when it began to rain - at that same moment, the song Healing Rain began to play in his headphones – as though God was telling him – “I am washing away your sins on this very hike” – ironically, as he hiked in the rain he could see sunlight shining down below where the hike had begun and he remembered where he had begun – and he told me later he felt a new energy in his step and when he got to the waterfalls at the end he felt he was healed of the past memories and bad choices. He told me “I believes that the past is forgiven and forgotten by the ONE who opened the heavens with sunshine all the while sending HIS healing rain just for me.”

That is what Yosemite Summit is all about. It is about getting away to hear from God. It isn’t about hiking in the great outdoors. It isn’t about getting great pictures of God’s Creation. It isn’t even about great fellowship – though you get all of those – it is about getting away and hearing from God. I hope you will consider joining me for Yosemite Summit 2011.

Me as Evening Settles in over Nevada Falls (click 4 large view)

This place is beyond description, though of course, I try. As I often say, it is where God showed off. Our language lacks adequate words to do Yosemite justice.

Incredible. Amazing. Spectacular. Breathtaking. Beautiful. Magnificent.

I suppose the best I can use is awe-inspiring. Awe at the sheer size, and height, and depth, and distance, and beauty, and splendor that hits your eyes all at once. And no matter how many pictures you take (and I take a lot) you can’t contain it. You can’t get your mind around it. You have to be there and just experience it. But what is the “it” – “it” is not Yosemite, it is GOD. His Bigness, His Majesty, His Beauty, His Greatness, His Power, His Creative ability, – I do not worship Yosemite – I love Yosemite because it draws out of me a depth of worship I can only experience there. It’s like somehow God is more there than anywhere else. While I know theologically that isn’t true, this broken spiritual vessel is somehow healed there – even if only temporarily – and able to feel God’s presence like no other time. All doubts, All worries, All concerns, All pressures, All temptations, All guilt, All my earthly distractions vanish there – and I get a taste of what heaven will be like. Not necessarily what I see the outside there – but what happens to me on the inside there. And I beg God to let me take Yosemite (His peace and presence) back with me when I return to my normal life. May I not forget those mountains, those waterfalls, those trees and those vistas are all still there – even as I hurry about my busy life – to remind me the HE is still there too, quietly, patiently waiting for me to STOP and ponder Him, worship Him, and return to that place of Awe wherever I may be.

Last year at this time I was overwhelmed with depression, anger, insecurity, and the demands of a ministry that I didn’t realize was coming to an end.  The Yosemite Summit turned out to be exactly what I needed to recognize my true value before an amazing God who delights in me regardless of my performance or behavior.  The months following the Summit were difficult for my family as we left our church without knowing where God would take us next, but I can say with certainty that Karl’s invitation to Yosemite led to a healing and contentment that I couldn’t have survived without.

Praise God that I’m in a much better situation this year.  Yes, I’m returning to Yosemite, and if you are going through anything like I was a year ago, I hope to meet you there and be a part of your renewal.  You need this more than you realize!

Note: Brent went to the second Summit and added a PS that after writing this e-mail he was heading off to lunch with a Yosemite Summiteer from the first year that I hooked him up with when he moved to Phoenix. Amazing how God has used this event to create friendships even outside of any beyond Yosemite!

(See also: What I learned at Yosemite Summit by Brent)

Me too.

But at least something is different now. I have a built in pit stop in my life, called Yosemite Summit.

Every May, me and eight other children’s pastors (or ministry leaders) go to Yosemite National Park for a complete break-away from ministry to just fellowship with each other and focus on our relationship with God and our  relationships with our wives and kids. And nothing else.

and…

We WALK AWAY FROM IT ALL. I’ve had to accept that while I will always be working on it, I will never master getting my daily life or week under control. There is just too much to do all the time. But at least I can look forward to once a year, every year, when I walk away from it all for four glorious days when I just enjoy God’s incredible creation in THE most spectacular place on earth. (Seriously, it is!)

If you are stressed out and thinking you don’t have time for Yosemite Summit – than YOU are exactly who DOES NEED Yosemite Summit, and believe me, not only can you leave everything and it will be waiting for you when you get back – but you will be different when you return, and everything will be lighter when you pick it upon your return, for reasons I can’t explain until you join me there…. it’s kinda a secret until you arrive and experience what happens on this retreat.

Why not trust God and build this Spiritual Pit Stop into your busy life? Your family and your SOUL will thank you… and so will your Savior.

And if you can’t come to Yosemite Summit… what is YOUR Built in Pit Stop?

The number one reason to go back – I know that I need the time away. I love what I do, don’t get me wrong. But throughout the year, the emotional stress can wear you out. The “normal” people issues that come up can wear on your soul, especially when the people are not just bodies in the congregation but are your friends, your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that I need the time away to leave the work of ministry behind, to leave the daily tasks behind, and to focus on ultimately what is most important, my own personal relationship with Christ.

Words cannot describe the feeling you have when you are 8,000+ feet up, looking over God’s awesome creation and it is just you, Him and His Word. God revealed things to me during the week at Yosemite that I was not expecting.

The time away last year allowed me to refocus my life and set my eyes on what was most important once again. I am looking forward to the time once again to refocus my life and to continue to grow as a child of God.

The opportunity to get with other guys from across the country and share life together was amazing. We all shared the common ground of children’s ministry but it was great to get to know each other, pray for each other, and encourage each other in our personal walks with Christ. I am looking forward to that fellowship again this year.

The cost was an issue that I had to weigh out. But when it came down to it, I could spend the money going to conferences getting new ideas for ministry or I could spend the money and take the time away I need to grow in Christ and re-energize my walk with Him.

I don’t know about you, but I have so many ideas that I don’t know what to do with them all. And the thing is, if I am pouring my energy into ministry and not taking care of my own relationship with Him, those new ideas are not going to take off anyway. Over the last couple years I have been doing what I can to do what I have always known, to put my relationship with God before my ministry. This is easier said than done, especially during the day to day things of life. Yosemite Summit is a great way to get away to leave the other things behind for a week and focus on what is most important.

Whether we realize it or not, we all need this time away with God. We fool ourselves into thinking that it is not a good time. We tell ourselves that we have too much going on. The things is, when don’t we as children’s pastors have too much going on? When are we just waiting around with nothing to do? There is always something to do!

There is never going to be the “best” time in our eyes to leave things behind. But as I came to the conclusion last year and this year, I need this time more than I need to hold the next event for the children. I need this time more than the next new activity or idea for the children’s ministry.

I realized that I needed to trust God and that He would provide the way to get things done that needed to get done – He would clear the path even if issues came up while at Yosemite. So with that said, I look forward to the discussions God and I will have on that mountain top. I look forward to the time with Him. I look forward to the continued strength from Him and how I will grow closer to Him that week. It will be an awesome week. Don’t miss it.

- Pat, April 2010

To get a feel for what Yosemite Summit is, watch the highlight videos on the 2008 and 2009 report pages and click down through the posts throughout this site. There is truly no other conference like this. That is why I call it the UNconference for children’s pastors. It is beyond description, as much as I try to describe it on this website. We spend four spectacular days hiking together in one of the most beautiful places on the planet enjoying God’s creation, getting to know each other, and feeling a complete release from the pressures and problems that we left behind. And when we get home, they somehow are never as heavy as when we left them, because of the time we spent with God on Yosemite Summit. It is truly a life-changing time with a band of brothers who will become your soul mates for a week. As I like to say, there are no workshops, just worship – no resources, just relationships, and no networking, just God working. And it is real in a way that you will just have to experience.

I urge you – pray about coming. You need it, more than you will realize until you are there.

If you need something to invite someone to Yosemite Summit, here is a flyer I carry around to invite guys: Yosemite Summit Invite PDF