History
Lifelines began when a college student and two Campus Crusade for Christ staff members at the University of Maine wanted to take their non-Christian friends on whitewater rafting trips. But the venture soon turned into more than just outdoor trips.
Through an idea by former staff member Doug Palmeter, the rafting trips became a way to use experiential learning to help people grow spiritually, mentally and emotionally as they played on the river.
Doug was first inspired with these ideas in 1998, after hearing Christian psychologist Henry Cloud speak. Doug’s vision was to combine process learning and the Growth Model (a concept used in the campus ministry) and he created a relationship Grid, which became the foundation for the Lifelines ministry. These concepts helped paved the way for the Lifelines program used on trips today.
The three who first lead the rafting trips were Joe Cousins and Dan and Heather Litchfield. Along with Doug, these three soon found that students from whatever spiritual background were eager to participate in free rafting trips. They soon earned trust with these students and were able to share about their relationship with God in a relational and non-confrontational way.
This unique way of doing ministry began to show immense promise. The vision spread.
In the summer of 1999, Lifelines hosted The “Leadership Adventure Project” —a few trips combined with the School of Leadership at the Campus Crusade U.S. Staff Conference in Colorado. A member of the Campus Crusade leadership, Dave Sander, was critical in helping make this venture a reality.
Dan and Heather Litchfield and Joe Cousins became the first staff members with Lifelines, and they regularly began leading evangelistic trips. Lifelines soon purchased its first whitewater raft, and then began adding other outdoor pursuits: hiking, sledding and rock climbing.
Eventually they settled on the name “Lifelines,” along with a mission statement: “To use the outdoor experience to help students grow in relationship with God, in relationship with each other, in character and in leadership.”
At the University of Maine, Lifelines was growing into a thriving ministry. College students were looking for a spiritual experience and turning to the outdoors to find God. Lifelines provided this venue, and many students began a relationship with God as a result.
In 2000, Lifelines hosted its first summer project in Acadia, Maine. More than 30 staff members from the Northeast and were trained in Lifelines ministry. Following that summer, our projects became dual purposed: developing both staff members and students.
In 2005, Lifelines expanded to the University of Virginia through John and Kelly Kidd. A year later, Dan and Heather Litchfield started a ministry at The University of Vermont.
Soon Lifelines also expanded to Northern Arizona University, multiple campuses in Utah and eventually Cornell University in New York.
In 2008, Lifelines started its second summer project, Rocky Mountain Lifelines in Estes Park, Colorado.
In 2009, the Campus Crusade Board of Directors adopted Lifelines as one of the first emerging national strategies under Dave Sander’s direction, and officially became “the Outdoor and Experiential Learning Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.”
In March of 2009, Doug Palmeter left Lifelines to start a new venture, but continues to serve as a consultant and friend of the ministry today.
Lifelines has continued to grow rapidly in the past few years. In five years we’ve grown from one campus with three full-time staff members to six campuses with 33 full-time Lifelines staff and six interns.
We believe that God will double those numbers in the next five years, and we are trusting God for the resources to continue to expand—even internationally. We envision a day where Lifelines can play a vital role on all of the campuses where Campus Crusade has a ministry presence. To God be the glory for what He has accomplished through the Lifelines ministry!