Faith, Fellowship, and Fresh Air: Exploring GU’s Outdoor Adventure Club
Published: January 11, 2026
Author: Lydia Cahill
In 2021, Stephen Groves and Ross Baker launched an idea that would reshape how students viewed the world and interacted with others: the Outdoor Adventure Club.
“My co-leader, Ross Baker, ran an Outdoor Adventure Program at Azusa Pacific,” Groves said. “He and I love doing outdoor trips together, and we thought this could be a way we could recruit students around outdoor experiences. Out west, these programs are much more popular, and around here, almost nobody has them. This was a way to recruit some more non-athletes and get them involved in something extracurricular and give them cool experiences centered around a passion that Ross and I already had.”
Groves and Ross have grounded the club in firm Christian principles that students can apply to all areas of their lives. While some of these pillars are more traditional methods of spiritual growth, the Outdoor Adventure Club also uses God's greatest masterpiece as its textbook—nature.
“We have three foundational pillars for what the program is about,” Groves said. “For spiritual growth and development, we have a Monday small group. For environmental services, we work on the Gullies trail system twice a month. The final pillar is outdoor experiences. I think that the outdoor experiences will provide students with the mental and relational space to experience a slower pace of life and think about things more deeply.”
Hiking in the woods, ziplining, and reading the Bible are all vastly different ways to encounter God, yet students are shown how they are all outlets for faith.
Groves keeps the small group fresh by rotating how they study and learn.
“If you're going to be a Christian and follow Jesus, you need to have a good idea of who he is and what he stands for. We aim to immerse students in the gospel narrative. It changes semester to semester what we do in our small group; we've done books, Bible studies, video series, and devotionals,” said Groves.
Through this club, students learn to tie outdoor fun to spiritual growth. The family-like atmosphere of the club provides a safe environment to test their fears and their faith.
“We want to inspire students to have the courage to do more extreme things than they've ever done before,” Groves explained. “The hope would be that we can tie that in spiritually to what walking faithfully with God looks like and the adventure of knowing that there's a good plan even though we don't always know exactly what it's going to be.”
Through the club, students learn to demonstrate creation care in their homes and the world at large, making outdoor experiences more enjoyable and beautiful for the wider community.
“We believe in promoting outdoor beauty and making it more accessible for people, both on the campus and in the wider community, to enter nature experiences. We feel that it's our service work we give back to the community,” said Groves.
Trips and Memories
To foster students’ love of the outdoors and nature, the Outdoor Adventure Club offers large trips across the country and beyond.
These trips are among the most memorable parts of the club and forge deep relationships among members. Goves shared a long list of the club's adventures—each one packed with memories.
“We do at least one big trip every year,” Groves explained. “We have done the Southwest National Parks like the Grand Canyon and Zion, an international trip to the Dominican Republic, and Yosemite. We have also done southern Colorado, including the Garden of the Gods and the Pikes Peak area. All those big trips, we have great memories from them. A couple of other things that stand out: two different times we've done this really cool cave kayaking experience in Missouri, where you have lights on the bottom of the kayaks and kayak through a cave system. We've done a couple of cool ziplining trips in southern Illinois, where we're way up in the canopy, and you stay there the whole time. Most years, we go down to Giant City to do outdoor rock climbing.”
Daniel Oakes, a senior member of the club and environmental science major, shared her thoughts on the large trip the Outdoor Adventure Club took last year—Yosemite.
“The most memorable part of the whole trip was climbing Yosemite Falls. That's the most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life. It was brutal. It took us 8 hours in total, but I felt like I could conquer the world after that. Nothing will ever compare.”
Anna Tooley, a junior history major, shared how Yosemite gave her a profound spiritual experience that she carries with her to this day.
“At Glacier Point, I just went, sat on a rock, and sketched Half Dome and all the surrounding mountains. Now I have that in my notebook, and I'll remember what that looks like forever. The outdoors is where I feel the most connected to God, and at that spot in Yosemite, I just got to spend 2 hours with God.”
Though far from California, Gavin Hillenburg (a senior history education major) recounted how a trip with the Outdoor Adventure Club helped him conquer his greatest fear—heights.
“I'd say the trip that challenged me most was cliff jumping. My #1 fear is heights — I planned to do the 20- or 30-foot jumps. Then some people wanted to go higher, and somehow I got roped in. It was 70 feet — super scary. I would never have done something like that, but I had so much fun.”
Conquering fears and deepening faith are deeply ingrained in Outdoor Adventure Club members, creating a bank of shared memories that students will carry for years to come.
Lessons and Love
Since its start in 2021, Outdoor Adventure Club has made a deep mark on its members not only through trips but also through its welcoming atmosphere and the love the group shows.
Oakes knew right away that Outdoor Adventure Club would be a place she could call home.
“I heard about it when I was filling out my application for GU. When I came for my visit, I met with Stephen, and as soon as I walked down into the little room where we meet for the club, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Steven talked about how we go on all these different trips, work in The Gullies, and do small groups; I knew this was going to be my thing. I'm not an athlete, but I want to be part of something on campus. I also love outdoor activities and traveling. To be able to have that opportunity in college and be able to meet people--I knew I wanted to be a part of that.”
“The group allows us to meet people outside of what we would typically be surrounding ourselves with,” Oakes continued. “That's really cool for me, because I've met a lot of people in the group that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Some of them are my best friends now, so that's really cool. This group has seriously given me the best college experience.”
Hillenburg shared that no one is put on the outside of the Outdoor Adventure Club; there is a place for everyone, regardless of skill level. Additionally, he spoke about how Groves and Baker do not just teach Christian values; they live them out.
“We do adventurous stuff, but anyone can do it. Maybe you've been hiking for a while, or maybe you're a beginner, but the club makes everything tangible for everyone. We challenge each other, but we all support one another. When you complete something together, it feels like a family. Hospitality has also been huge; Stephen, Ross, and their wives make the best food. They truly do care about us as students and our development, and they are trying to foster a sense of responsibility for your community, your space, and the world around you. You learn to see God through interactions with people and what you see outside. It's the best.”
Tooley, nervous about joining the club at first, has found that it is the home on campus she was looking for.
“Asking Stephen if I could join Outdoor Adventure was the best thing I have ever done. It feels like I was always meant to be there.”
Looking to Tomorrow
Through faith, fellowship, and fresh air, the Outdoor Adventure Club is already shaping its students' lives. Members stem from diverse backgrounds and majors, and yet the experiences they share are turning this club into a family.
As they continue to learn more about themselves and the world around them, there is no place in God’s creation out of their reach.
