What is desperately needed today is not more knowledge based training, but rather a wisdom based curriculum that focuses less on the assimilation of facts, and more on the practical outworking of what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ. The Joshua Wilderness Institute is a program designed for those who know they want to serve the Lord but lack the discernment, focus, spiritual and personal discipline, or life experience to exercise real wisdom in everyday situations. It is with this great need recognized, that Hume Lake Christian Camp and Conference Center (Hume, CA) is provides the Joshua Wilderness Institute. What follows is an interview with program director Rich Ferreira:
What is the mission of your program?
Rich: Our mission statement at Joshua, “Transforming the Life Effectiveness of God’s People” is simple. But the process by which this mission is realized is anything but. Utilizing a combination of theology, Bible study skills, philosophy and worldview training, evangelism, character development, personal life skills, and monthly domestic and international ministry trips, we endeavor to expose students to life, guide them to discern God’s will, and cultivate a spiritual passion and calling. Ultimately though, it is not our programming or passion that transforms these students. It is God Himself responding to the individual cry of each one who has purposefully set this time aside to be transformed. We are different than a college– there are no grades, no one gets and A and no one gets an F, “success” and “failure” are individual, and between the student and God. The sole motivation for attendance should be life effectiveness, through an increase in wisdom. When students come with that singular goal in mind, each one takes home a measure of transformation proportional to his or her individual drive and desire to be more like Christ.
How many students participate each year?
Rich: We accept 56 students each year, 28 men and 28 women.
What are the basic elements of your program?
Rich: This Benedictine motto from the 9th century also serves as the philosophical foundation of our training at the Joshua Wilderness Institute. Cruce, Libro, et Atro literally means “the cross, the book, and the plow.” It emphasizes the necessity of personal balance in faith, knowledge, and work ethic for the disciple. Faith “without deeds” is dead as it says in James, while faith without knowledge is unsustainable. Similarly, Christian activity motivated by anything other than faith and God’s glory is wasted, and work ethic alone, separated from knowledge is not only dangerous, but directionless. It is only when one learns to synchronize Biblical faith, the acquisition of knowledge, and the service of God and others that life effectiveness truly becomes attainable. The institute provides the necessary tools and means for attaining just such a balance.
The way we practically accomplish this is through daily classroom learning, weekly evening speakers, book discussions, service opportunities around camp and in our program, weekend work, monthly domestic and international ministry trips (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Israel, and inner city LA), and living in a community of fellow believers where each lesson learned is put into practice.
Why are you passionate about your work?
Rich: We get to come along side 56 students each year and walk with them in discipleship. We help them take a look at their life and really examine which parts God is trying to get a hold of, where their faith isn’t fully integrated into their life. We help remove the compartments that house the separate areas of life, and begin to see God as not just a part of our life, but as the whole purpose. At the end of the year we sit with each student and celebrate the victories of Christ in their lives, and look at the continuing challenges as they move forward. There’s no better job!
Additionally, we have the benefit of legacy, and time passed allows us to look back and reconnect with past students, to see the lessons learned in Joshua play out over time. With 11 years of graduated classes, it’s fun to see where our investment in students leads as students follow Christ over time.
What do you tell parents who might be reluctant to have their child take a “year off” before going to college?
Rich: Joshua isn’t just about gaining Biblical knowledge before heading off to college, although that does happen. More than that, we want to equip students to meet any trial that they face as they move on, relying on their knowledge, faith and community. We walk with students through conflict resolution, wrestling with faith issues, and learning how to put into practice the truth they find in scripture. We also work with them on practical discipline and life skills that are needed to be an adult in the real world–living in shared space, doing laundry, interviewing for a job, time management and study skills, and many more things that help them to be successful in college where many incoming freshmen are overwhelmed and fall short. Students also have the option to earn between 9-21 units of credit while attending Joshua.
With 11 years of graduates, we’ve found that students that have completed the Joshua program are better prepared to beat the statistics and have a thriving faith in their college career–so much so that there are Christian colleges who are partnering with us to bring our students to their schools by offering scholarships and elective credit for the work done in this year.
Why do you think most students are attracted to your program?
Rich: Students are attracted to our program largely because they see the life change in the graduated students. Because Joshua students are staff at Hume Lake Christian Camps, where most of our prospects hear about the program, they are able to interact and see first hand exactly what this program is, and the life change that happens in this program. The ministry trips, classes and speakers are also a draw, because it is a chance to be exposed to so much great teaching and different ministry areas in just a year.
What do students who have completed your program say was the most meaningful part of the experience?
Rich: Students who have just finished the program would probably say that the ministry trips and the classes were the most meaningful. Their horizons have been expanded, and their ability to study scripture on their own is life changing. However, students who have been out of the program for a few years consistently say that the community that they learned to build has served them as they move on and build new communities, and that the intangible idea that their faith is everything in their life, and not just a part of it, are the most valuable things that they gained from the Joshua program.
Learn more about similar gap year programs here.
Not sure if a gap year program is right for you? Read: “God in the Gap Year: The Benefits of Taking Time Off Before Going to College”
