About Us

Journey Quest is a Christian wilderness ministry based out of Colorado’s Arkansas River Valley. We offer customized, Christ-centered wilderness and whitewater rafting adventures for youth, families, and groups. Our goal is to glorify God while sharing the hope of his Gospel with all who come on our trips.

Our Mission:

“To provide Christ-centered wilderness journeys, challenging young and old alike to pursue the ultimate quest: a lifelong relationship with Christ.”

Why Journey Quest?

With more than 40 rafting outfitters on the Arkansas River, why choose Journey Quest?

Here are a few very good reasons:

Christ-Centered Wilderness Ministry
Each and every trip, whether it is a week-long combo trip, a full-day Royal Gorge adventure, or a 1/2 day family float trip has a much deeper purpose than just the adventure itself. Our guides seek to build a deep trust with their guests, directing the conversation to a meaningful spiritual conversation that will ultimately glorify Jesus Christ and proclaim the good news of the Gospel. We use intentional questions, thoughtful listening, relevant analogies, sharing from God’s Word, and allowing the Spirit of God to lead. Many of our guests have told us how their trip has brought them closer to Jesus Christ and encouraged them in their faith.
Positive Role Model
Journey Quest selects guides based on their love for Jesus Christ, their heart to serve, and their passion for wilderness and youth ministry — these are qualities we can’t teach. Our guides love to serve you and make your trip the best it can possibly be. Many parents have shared how much their child or teen was positively impacted by their guide and how hard it is to find a young man or woman who is actively seeking Christ’s glory.
Highly Trained, Professional Guides

Journey Quest invests much more individual time than most companies in guide-training. Our guides receive at least 100 hours of on-river training before guiding guests — that’s twice the state requirement followed by most outfitters. At a minimum, each of our guides is trained and certified in Whitewater Rescue, Wilderness First Aid and CPR. Many of them are certified at higher levels such as Wilderness First Responder or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

Individual Attention
Journey Quest is a smaller outfitter and we are able to provide individual attention for you and your family. Most outfitters attempt to fill every boat with 6-8 guests as this is more profitable, even if this means splitting up families and groups. We prefer smaller crews and keeping families together. This allows better opportunity to get to know each guest, discern their needs, and minister to each and every person.
Great Value & Straightforward Pricing

Our pricing is very competitive with other outfitters and wilderness ministries. Overnight or customized trip pricing includes all taxes and fees. For single-day trips, we charge exact River Access/Public Land Use Fees and applicable taxes. In addition, we offer great group rates for organized groups.

More Than Just a Fun Time

“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Life is full of moments that point us to God and if we take the time to allow him to, the Holy Spirit can teach us profound lessons about the Lord, life, and our own hearts. We call these teachable moments. At Journey Quest we train our staff to recognize and make the most of these moments to point each guest to Christ. This allows trips to be both physically and spiritually challenging to group members.

Here are just two of many analogies we use in our activities to make the Gospel come alive for your family or your group.

Christ is an Unfailing Anchor

When rappelling down a rock we must place complete trust in the system: that the anchors are secure, the equipment will not fail and the belayer will not let go of the rope. It calls for complete faith on our part as we step over the edge. This is what Christ is calling us to. His desire is that we have complete faith in him, being willing to lean back in his arms and trust that he will hold us and never break or fail us.

Who's Guiding Your Boat?

Rafting tends to bring out nervous tension and fear of the unknown. Our guides will use this and ask questions such as “Who do you rely on to guide you through the rapids of life?” As the trip progresses and the group starts to trust more, the guide might ask “If Christ is the guide of the boat of life, where are you in relation to him? Are you in the boat listening for his commands? Are you pushing him out of the guide seat? Are you floating in the river trying to decide whether to ask for help? or Are you running away as far and as fast as you can?” The guide uses this analogy to open a discussion about where each person is in their relationship with Christ. This analogy also provides an excellent opportunity to present the truth of the Gospel with the group and the difference Christ has made in the guide’s life personally.

Not Your Average Guide

At Journey Quest we are passionate about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we hire our staff we look for men and women who love the Lord and will go out of their way to share that love with others. We believe that our staff make the difference in our ministry. Their heart for people is shown as they share their stories and truths from God’s Word, as they serve by cooking meals and running activities, and most importantly, as they seek out guests to pour into their lives. A great deal of time during our training is spent discussing analogies and how to creatively use them on trips to minister to groups. We hold a high standard of guide training and certification. Our staff exceed the guide requirements for the State of Colorado before we allow them to guide a trip. The safety of our guests is always our priority.

Panoramic Photo of Bushnell Lakes

What Our Guests Are Saying

“I learned so much about myself, God, and Life.”
Maddy K
Geneva, Illinois
“I loved how personable Journey Quest's guides were. I had a great time bonding with them and I will truly miss them. Rock Climbing was my favorite activity and I learned so much about trust and pushing my limits. I learned so much about myself, God, and Life. I wish I could stay forever! :-)”
“This week was really life changing!”
Lucy
Geneva, Illinois
“Journey Quest's guides were really open about talking about their passions and personal faith. They also really tried to get to know us each personally with a lot of enthusiasm which was really welcoming...I enjoyed Rock Climbing the most. I learned that you can be surprised about how far you can push and challenge yourself even if you think you can't do it...It has helped me realize how important it is to remove yourself to really focus on your faith. I liked not having my phone and the time spent together...Thank you for everything this week. It was really life changing!”
“This trip blew away my expectations!”
Zach B.
Geneva, Illinois
“The food was AMAZING! The guides were all very relate-able and easy going. They challenged our group, pushing us out of our comfort zones. Every single guide always had a smile of their face...I've build so many new relationships and I felt like I found my place in the world...Colorado! I liked all the activities, but I liked the guides the best. Great people, personalities, and sense of humor...This trip blew away my expectations and I'd love to come back someday (or next week).”
“Journey Quest Combo”
Tamara D
Geneva, Illinois
“Journey Quest is the first Christian program I feel I can recommend to others. I felt my kids and I were always in competent hands; even the "dangerous" activities felt safe and professionally managed. Excellent ministry focus throughout! Sincerely appreciated the kind and infection enthusiasm. I'm truly grateful and humbled by the energy and intention I received from each and every Journey Quest associate!”
“What a great afternoon!”
Percella Snyder
Via Google +
“Our family thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our rafting trip with our guides, Mark and Ryan. What makes it even better is the fact that they are Christians! We spent the whole day breaking spiritual bread with some awesome men of God...and we got to navigate the waters of Royal Gorge in the process! ” Read Full Review

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