My journey with ACMNP came during a season when I was still discerning my call to ministry. I had worked in ministry for a couple of years and later served multiple pastorates before becoming the Director of the Field Seminary at Princeton Seminary. Looking back, my experiences with ACMNP were instrumental in confirming that call. They placed me in real, unfiltered ministry contexts where I had to rely not on a script, but on faithfulness and integrity. 

I served in both Custer State Park near Mount Rushmore and later at the Grand Canyon—two very different experiences. Custer was difficult and, at times, lonely. But it was there that I learned what faithfulness truly looks like. I made campground visits, initiated conversations with strangers, and discovered how to be present with people in meaningful ways. Even in the struggle, I sensed that God was continuing to call me back into ministry, reinforcing that this was where I was meant to be. 

When I went to the Grand Canyon, I asked for one thing—that I wouldn’t feel as alone as I had in Custer. That experience became rich in a completely different way. I worked closely with the church in the Grand Canyon Village, supporting the pastor and using my gifts in preaching, pastoral care, and responding to crises. I also built relationships with people I might not have otherwise encountered, which deeply broadened my perspective and understanding of ministry. 

Throughout my time with ACMNP, I came to believe something I later told my seminary students: you will hear a lot about the authority of a pastor, but the most important thing you bring is your integrity. Your education will shape you, but integrity is what sustains your ministry. In the parks, there is no script—you must learn to listen to your context, to the people around you, and to God’s leading. That lesson stayed with me and shaped how I both practiced ministry and taught it. 

My advice to anyone entering a season with ACMNP is simple: be faithful and be present. You don’t need to have all the answers. Learn to listen well, engage people genuinely, and trust that God is working through even the smallest interactions. Those experiences will shape you more than you expect—and may very well confirm the calling you didn’t fully understand when you began. 

Harry F. Custer State Park & Grand Canyon National Park, 1960