ABOUT WILDERNESS FORMATION
Two generations. One body of practice.
Wilderness Formation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit equipping churches and faith communities to build thriving wilderness ministries. These wilderness ministries offer deep discipleship within your community, and an incredible “front door“ for others.
1989. THE NORTH CASCADES
It started as a Bible school in the mountains.
In 1989, Richard and Donna Dahlstrom founded Alaythia Fellowship, a Bible school in the North Cascades of Washington State. The classrooms could be found at the crag, all the way to the summit of Mount Baker. These weeks of Bible school facilitated in the mountains were founded in authentic living, rooted in hospitality and shared life with Christ.
Over the decades that followed, Richard developed what would become the Ancient Paths curriculum: a framework for Christian formation in the wilderness rooted in rites of passage, intentional solitude, the convergence of creation and text, and the conviction that God still speaks through the wild places.
Over the decades that followed, Richard built the Ancient Paths curriculum the way he built everything else: by doing it. Trading in Mount Shuksan for Kendall Peak in Snoqualmie Pass, people came up to be led into the mountains. There, they were introduced to the Ancient Paths of fasting, meditation, and awareness of a God who longs to make us whole in spirit, soul, and body.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021
A new chapter with deep roots.
On September 20, 2021, John Wayne Seitzler was voted in as Executive Director of Alaythia Fellowship. The organization had been quieter for some years. The vision hadn't gone anywhere. It needed someone to carry it into a new season.
Partnering with Richard, John Wayne renewed the work as Wilderness Formation, to make the mission of deep discipleship accessible to churches and faith communities. He brought his own experience to the work: guiding sea kayaking expeditions, leading mountain guide teams, and his current role as Pastor of Wilderness Ministry at Bethany Community Church in Seattle.
This renewal is a focused effort to equip churches and faith communities across the country and beyond to build thriving wilderness ministries of their own for the sake of deep discipleship in the way of Christ.
TWO GENERATIONS
The curriculum was developed by Richard. The program was built together.
Richard Dahlstrom developed the Ancient Paths curriculum across decades of guiding leaders, congregations, and individuals into the mountains. John Wayne Seitzler helped build it into the program it is today, sharpening the trip systems, the risk-management practice, the leader-development pipeline, and the way it lands in a local church context.
Today, Richard continues to teach alongside John Wayne at the annual Ancient Paths Certification Week at Snoqualmie Pass, and continues to write at his long-running publication, Spirit Soul Body, now on Substack.
This is a deep lineage with frameworks that have been developed across two generations of wilderness ministry, ready to be passed onto your community.
THEOLOGY OF WILDERNESS
We believe faith is a full-value discipleship experience, not just a set of doctrines. Christ longs to encounter us through the text of God’s good creation.
Christ longs to take us and our communities into a new depth of relationship through formative experiences in the outdoors.
The people behind Wilderness Formation.
TEAM & BOARD
A small team carrying a deep lineage forward.
STAFF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John Wayne Seitzler
Voted in as Executive Director on September 20, 2021. Renewed Alaythia Fellowship as Wilderness Formation to bring its tradition to churches across the country and beyond. As the Pastor of Wilderness Ministry at Bethany Community Church in Seattle, you can find John Wayne living this work out while ski touring in the Kendall Adventure Zone, climbing at Washington Pass, or mountain biking in the I90 corridor.
FOUNDERS & EMERITUS BOARD
FOUNDER • EMERITUS
Richard Dahlstrom
Co-founded Alaythia Fellowship in 1989 with Donna Dahlstrom. Developed the Ancient Paths curriculum over decades of teaching. Continues to co-lead AP Certification Week annually. Writes at Spirit Soul Body on Substack.
CO-FOUNDER • EMERITUS
Donna Dahlstrom
Co-founded Alaythia Fellowship in 1989 with Richard Dahlstrom. Helped shape the original North Cascades Bible school and the formation work that grew from it. Continues to serve as an Emeritus Board Member.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
VICE PRESIDENT
Megan Cowell
TREASURER
Josh Breiling
BOARD MEMBER
Rob Duyker
BOARD MEMBER
Ben Creelman
THE STORY OF THE LAND
We at Wilderness Formation acknowledge that we work and play on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, people who are still here. We express our respect and gratitude for our indigenous siblings and their Elders and for their care and protection of our shared lands and waterways.
ORGANIZATION DETAILS
501 (c)(3) Nonprofit
Legal Name
Doing Business as
EIN
Headquarters
Founded
Renewed as Wilderness Formation
Alaythia Fellowship
Wilderness Formation
91- 1461881
Seattle, WA
1989, as Alaythia Fellowship
2021
Want to bring this work to your church or community?
Two ways forward: a Discovery Call for churches, ministries and individuals, or registration for the next Ancient Paths Certification Week cohort.