An Exponential Impact
Since 1997, Canyon Ministries has provided Christ-centered trips through the Grand Canyon and has been blessed to lead trips for some of the top creation scientists from around the world. Through our scholarship fund, the Lord has allowed us to meet one of the desires of my heart by putting together a special week-long trip through the canyon for Christian leaders. Friends of our ministry make it possible for us to offer this unique opportunity with substantial scholarships so that every invitee can go on the trip at greatly reduced personal expense.
Many Christians believe that since the scientific arguments about origins are outside their own area of expertise, they are compelled to accept the scientific community’s standard interpretation that the earth is billions of years old. I myself held this view well into my adult life before coming to faith in Christ. For about half of my more than 30 years of experience in the canyon, I taught people this old-earth, evolutionary interpretation of the canyon. But thanks to the work of many creation geologists, I am now persuaded that the physical evidence we observe in the canyon (like the geology in the rest of the world) truly does confirm a literal interpretation of God’s Word in Genesis.
Partnering with Answers in Genesis (AiG) and with the ongoing support of Cedarville University, Christian leaders are exposed to the geological evidence in the Grand Canyon we believe powerfully confirms the literal history in Genesis about Noah’s Flood and the age of the earth. (See Cedarville President Thomas White’s comments on the trip below.) The Christian Leaders Trip is designed for presidents, deans, and professors from seminaries and Bible colleges who have direct influence over the teaching of the Old Testament (specifically Genesis 1-11), as well as leaders of large ministries with an emphasis in apologetics and senior teaching pastors from large churches.
Tom Vail
Founder, Canyon Ministries
While the CLT is no longer active, our scholarship program is. Your gift provides scholarships for those who cannot afford a trip on their own.
Scholarships are provided to pastors, teachers, and ministry leaders to share how the glory of God and His creation, judgment, and redemption are revealed in the canyon.
The 2023 Christian Leaders Trip (CLT) will be our 15th trip! We have shared the canyon with over 280 Christian leaders and professors from 28 nations, representing over 130 different institutions, organizations, and churches.
Here is what Dr. Tim Tomlinson, President, Bethlehem College and Seminary, said about the 2011 trip:
“This trip is remarkable. Not only does it provide a close-up look at one of the amazing marvels of God’s creation, it challenges your way of thinking about the importance of the biblical account of creation. For those who are uncertain about the origins debate or for those who have already determined what they believe about it, this trip is strategic. Don’t be afraid to go on this trip no matter what perspective you have. It is always good to be challenged to be as biblical as possible and this trip will do that. Be prepared to worship, learn, be blessed with sweet fellowship and camaraderie, and experience the Grand Canyon like never before. The importance of this issue is not going to go away and this trip can help you become better equipped to address it from a more informed perspective than just about anything thing else you can do. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to go on this trip.”
A partial list of past participants, along with their comments about the trip, can be found at CLT Participants & Recommendations. (The positions/institution listed represents the individual’s position at the time of the trip.)
The by-invitation-only Christian Leaders Trip is 9 days long (7 of which are in the Grand Canyon), and covers 187 miles of the Colorado River. This stretch of the Grand Canyon provides up-close access to the geological evidence we believe confirms the account of the Flood and the biblical timescale.
Explanation of the geological evidence is provided by Dr. Andrew Snelling, AiG’s Director of Research, and by Dr. John Whitmore, Professor of Geology at Cedarville University. Both are PhD geologists who have been doing research in and around the Grand Canyon for many years. Dr. Terry Mortenson, an AiG speaker with a PhD in the history of geology, and Dr. William Barrick, retired Professor of Old Testament at The Master’s Seminary, provide historical and biblical input related to our understanding of the canyon and the controversy over the age of the earth.
God has called Canyon Ministries to a unique, very effective mission: to present evidence in the Grand Canyon to influential Christian leaders in order to affirm the truth and authority of God’s Word, especially in Genesis 1-11. Through several teaching sessions each day, formal Q&A discussion times and plenty of informal conversation and fellowship, we endeavor to strengthen the faith of young-earth creationists and respectfully challenge the thinking of those who hold an old-earth view or are undecided about the age of the earth. The intensive teaching on the trip conforms to the Foundational Beliefs of Canyon Ministries.
We cannot do this trip without the financial support of Christians who see the strategic importance of prominent Christian leaders and scholars who influence so many others in the body of Christ. Most of these men would not be able to come without the substantial scholarship (over $3,000 per man) we provide.
Will you consider how God wants you to partner with us financially and in prayer in this important mission?
Canyon Ministries is a non-profit ministry able to accept your corporate or personal tax-deductible investment* in the Christian Leaders Trip.
To partner with us in making the CLT a reality every year, you may make a secure online donation via PayPal by clicking on the button below.
Support the Christian Leaders Trip
To make a donation by mail, please make your check payable to Canyon Ministries and send it to:
Canyon Ministries
PO Box 307
Flagstaff, AZ 86002
