75 Years of Ministry in the National Parks
Celebrating lives changed through worship, leadership, and service.
Since 1951, ACMNP has equipped thousands to share Christ in places of stunning beauty—and sometimes deep hardship. As we celebrate 75 years, your story is part of this legacy.
served
75 Years, 6 Big Challenges, One Incredible Journey
Honoring 75 Years with Six Bold Commitments
As we celebrate 75 years of ministry in the national parks, we invite you to join us in six inspiring anniversary challenges that honor our past and propel us into the future. Together, let’s hike 75,000 miles in the beauty of creation, take on a Stewardship Challenge to care for the places we love, and help us raise $750,000 to fuel the next generation of ministry. You can also be part of the legacy by helping us reach 75 new monthly donors, by joining in to lead worship outdoors, lifting voices of praise across God’s creation, and by helping share about ACMNP on churches and college campuses. These milestone activities are more than numbers—they’re a way to celebrate God’s faithfulness, strengthen our community, and invest in what’s ahead.
Recruit 2026
Team Members
Recruit our 2026 team by sharing on a campus or at a church!
Help us RecruitAttend an Event
This anniversary year is filled with opportunities to come together in joy and gratitude! Join us at one of eight regional gatherings across the country or at our special Yellowstone Fall Celebration to reconnect with the ACMNP family, share stories from 75 years of ministry, and look ahead to the exciting future God has in store. These events are more than reunions—they’re a chance to celebrate, worship, and be inspired by all that God is doing through this ministry.
Yellowstone National Park Fall Celebration
Mark your calendars now, as this is the event you won't want to miss! A Christian Ministry in the National Parks began in Yellowstone in 1951, which means our big 75th anniversary event will return to where it all began. There will be alumni in attendance from the early days of ACMNP, special speakers well loved by all, and a few surprises along the way (did we mention a cowboy cookout?) Join us September 17-20, 2026 in Yellowstone National Park as we reminisce, reconnect, and dream about the future of ACMNP together.
Commit to pray for ACMNP
Become a Prayer PartnerSupport the mission financially
DonateServe in the parks
Explore OpportunitiesSubmit Your Story & Photos
Your story is part of the ACMNP story! As we celebrate 75 years of ministry, we’d love to hear how God has worked in your life through this community. Whether it’s a life-changing summer in the parks, a powerful moment of worship outdoors, or friendships that shaped your journey, your memories help tell the bigger story of God’s faithfulness. Share your stories and photos with us so we can celebrate together and inspire the next generation of ministry.
How God Moved
Midway through the summer, tragedy struck when one of the women fell 80 feet into shallow water while hiking at Firehole Canyon. She was life-flighted to a hospital in Idaho, where she spent the next 6 weeks. The group of us took turns visiting her on our off days. I noticed a peace and trust the ACMNP staffers had regarding God’s power to heal and love us all...
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Relational Ministry Matters
As I spent more time being available, folks started to talk to me about their lives and their struggles, about their deep insecurities and the things that made them ashamed of themselves. And I sat and listened and felt the presence of the Lord in those conversations...
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Healing through Beauty
God’s creation pointed me towards healing through its beauty and the devotional times I had while at Mt Rainier were life changing. It was important for me to see the hurt and hopelessness in many of the transient employees I worked alongside, and know how to encourage them to find hope in places they might not have known about.
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Divine Appointments
I reached my hand out with her change, but she said “no I don’t want it. I’m not Christian, and I am not sure there is a God, but it feels right for you to put my change in the offering plate on Sunday towards your ministry. Also please keep me in your prayers; I have been going through a difficult time the last couple years.” And on that note, she left my store...
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Rewarding and Uplifting
Then it was time for the second service. At first there were only 4 people, but five minutes before the service started a giant group of 60 college-aged young adults from various campus ministries from around the country showed up. I was amazed (and slightly overwhelmed initially) at the sight of 64 strangers sitting down staring at my team and I...
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Lessons for a Lifetime
Many students experience surprise through the vastness and beauty in Gods creation, and ACMNP is there to interpret the biggest surprise in that God wants to know us personally.
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25 Years Later
Serving with ACMNP is a short term missions trip, full time job, and amazing vacation all rolled into one. I can’t wait to start planning a trip for our children when they are in college.
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God's Handiwork
I am an alum from both summers of 1986 and 87. During my second summer in the Tetons, we hosted Vice President George H.W. Bush, his wife Barbara, and a grandson for worship at Signal Mountain Amphitheater.
Read MoreFrequently Asked Questions
I am an alumni and would like to get more deeply involved. How can I do that?
Great question! We love our alumni and would love to help you get plugged back into ACMNP. There are several ways you can! Check out our alumni page and let’s start a conversation. You can always email us at info@acmnp.com as well.
Can I host a regional gathering where I live?
Absolutely! We would love to see friends and alumni of ACMNP gather together across the country as we celebrate the 75th anniversary and as we look towards the future of ministry in a national park together. Email us at info@acmnp.com and let us know where you’re hoping to have a gathering and we can help get the word out in your area.
What does my financial contribution support?
When we look back over the past 75 years, it is very evident how God has been at work in and through team members across national parks all over the country. Throughout that time, there have been over 17,500 alumni serving in over 100 locations through our nation’s parks. It is hard to quantify the impact of those numbers in a tangible way, but we have heard countless stories of coworkers coming to faith, of healing from difficult things, of transformation of our team members, of God calling alumni to ministry, and of thousands of moments of helping others see His beauty in the midst of His creation.
Donating to ACMNP, though, is not about honoring the inspiring stories of the past, it is about providing for the stories of the future. Every year, God calls approximately 200+ team members to live out their faith in tangible ways in national parks communities across the country. These team members work alongside people all season who are searching for something, and in the midst of quiet beauty, they can help point those people to God instead of the negative paths many choose.
There is something about being in an isolated place filled with the reflection of Christ and surrounded by people who are searching that makes national park ministry so important. Your financial gift is changing lives… the lives of our team members as they learn, grow and serve, the lives of national park community members who are searching and who need a place to belong, and the lives of park visitors who are looking to worship God in beautiful outdoor spaces in a safe interdenominational context. Most importantly, your generosity is changing lives so that more people can know and have life in Christ.
This year, we plan to send 200+ team members to 65 national park locations, and send over 100 to serve the national parks through an IMPACT trip. Next year, we hope to send even more. Will you help us?
How can I serve with ACMNP?
We would love to see your application come through! Visit www.acmnp.com/apply to learn more about the process and to submit your application. There are several FAQ’s over there along with helpful details. We have a minimum age of 18 for team members to serve in the national parks (though some younger than that may be eligible to join an IMPACT trip) but we do not have an upper limit on age to serve! The majority of our team members tend to be 18-30, but we also have team members who serve in their 60’s and 70’s too! Now, more than ever, there are opportunities to serve and share Christ’s love in these communities as visitation to the park continues to grow. You can learn more and apply by clicking here.
How did ACMNP begin?
A Christian Ministry in the National Parks originated in 1951 when founder Warren Ost, a Princeton Seminary student, worked in Yellowstone for the summer and noticed the various faith-based needs of park visitors, residents, and his own co-workers. One Sunday, he led an interdenominational service of worship in the bar area of the Old Faithful Inn, and thus ACMNP was born. We like to say we were doing bar ministry long before it was in style!
Rev. Ost continued to rally seminarians and college students to the parks as the Executive Director of ACMNP for 45 years. While originally guided and supported by the National Council of Churches, ACMNP was formally recognized as an independent, interdenominational movement and a registered 501(c)(3) organization in 1971. In 1996, Richard P. Camp became the second Executive Director after a distinguished career as chaplain of the United States Military Academy. ACMNP alumnus Spencer Lundgaard became the ministry’s third Executive Director in 2008. In 2018, the organization adopted a co-leadership model by selecting Amy Kennedy and David Degler to lead the organization into the future.
Be Part of the Celebration
Pray. Give. Go.
As we look back with gratitude and forward with hope, ACMNP’s 75th Anniversary is more than a milestone—it’s a movement of people united in worship, stewardship, and community in the national parks. Whether you hike, give, gather, share, or simply lift your voice in praise, your participation helps carry this ministry into the future. Together, we celebrate God’s faithfulness over the past 75 years and boldly step into the next season of ministry with joy and anticipation. Come be part of the story—join us in the adventure ahead!