ANNUAL COHORT • SNOQUALMIE PASS
Ancient Paths Certification Week.
Five days in the wilderness. Two generations of practitioners. The deepest immersion the Ancient Paths curriculum offers, for people ready to step into formative wilderness practice and learn to lead others in it.
5
$350
DAYS, 4 NIGHTS
PER PARTICIPANT
2
1x
CO-LEADS
PER YEAR
The most rigorous offering in the Wilderness Formation catalog.
WHAT THIS IS
Ancient Paths Certification Week is a five-day, four-night immersion in the Ancient Paths curriculum. Richard Dahlstrom developed the curriculum over decades of guiding leaders, congregations, and seekers into the mountains. John Wayne Seitzler helped build it into the program it is today. It's the curriculum our entire methodology grew out of.
Unlike our church-equipping work, AP Cert Week isn't built for one congregation. It gathers people from across the country and beyond. Our first cert week included a team from the Netherlands. Pastors, elders, lay leaders, ministry staff, recovery program leaders, and people God has formed in the wilderness, all in one cohort at Snoqualmie Pass. You come, you live in it, you learn it, you leave equipped to teach and lead it in your own context.
Individuals and small teams ready for depth.
WHO IT’S FOR
AP Cert Week is the right starting point if:
You're a pastor, elder, or lay leader who wants to learn the methodology directly, in cohort with others doing the same work
You're a small team (2 to 4 people) from a church or other ministry wanting the deepest possible foundation before launching at home
You're someone who has experienced God forming you in the wilderness and you want to lead others in similar ways
You're a ministry leader outside the local church (recovery, parachurch, missions) bringing wilderness into the work you already do
You want immersion and a body of practice, not just exposure
If you're a church or other ministry wanting on-site training for a larger team, our Wilderness Ministry Training is the better starting point.
Two generations of wilderness ministry practitioners.
CO-LEADS
Ancient Paths Certification Week is co-led by Richard Dahlstrom, who developed the curriculum and has taught it for decades, and John Wayne Seitzler, who helped build the program with Richard and carries it forward today.
CO-LEAD • FOUNDER
Richard Dahlstrom
Founder, Wilderness Formation (Alaythia Fellowship)
Richard founded Alaythia Fellowship in 1989 with Donna Dahlstrom as a Bible school in the North Cascades, using God's creation as classroom. Over the decades since, he developed the Ancient Paths curriculum, the framework for Christian formation in the wilderness that anchors everything Wilderness Formation does today.
Richard continues to teach, lead expeditions, and write on faith, formation, and creation at Spirit Soul Body, his long-running publication and a deep archive for anyone serious about Christian discipleship and the outdoors.
READ SPIRIT SOUL BODY →
CO-LEAD • EXECUTIVE DIRECTION
John Wayne Seitzler
Executive Director, Wilderness Formation
John Wayne was voted in as Executive Director of Alaythia Fellowship on September 20, 2021, and renewed the organization as Wilderness Formation to bring its tradition of wilderness ministry to churches across the country. He brings his own wealth of experience: sea kayaking expeditions, mountain guide teams, and his current role as Pastor of Wilderness Ministry at Bethany Community Church in Seattle.
At Bethany, the rhythms of wilderness ministry that WF teaches are tested in weekly, year-round practice. That feedback loop of train, test, refine, train again keeps the curriculum honest.
MORE ON THE WF STORY →
What five days at Snoqualmie Pass looks like.
THE WEEK
The week is structured around the core domains of the Ancient Paths curriculum. Morning teaching sessions, afternoon field practice, evening reflection by the fire. It's residential. You live with the cohort for the duration.
Theology of wilderness. Why God's people keep ending up there, and what it means for our formation today.
Trip systems and group facilitation. How to design and lead a wilderness experience that actually forms people.
Risk management and incident response. The professional-grade safety practice every wilderness leader needs.
Stewardship and creation ethic. Leave No Trace, creation theology, and how to teach both.
Content development. How to write and facilitate teaching that meets people in the terrain.
Personal formation. Practices for keeping your own soul awake on the trail.
"You don't leave AP Cert Week with notes. You leave with a body of practice, and a cohort of fellow practitioners who know the work."
JOHN WAYNE SEITZLER
Executive Director, Wilderness Formation
| FORMAT | 5 days, 4 nights · Residential |
| LOCATION | Snoqualmie Pass, WA |
| COHORT SIZE | Small group (8 to 14 participants). Limited by capacity, registration first-come. |
| PRICE | $350 per participant. Includes all curriculum and materials. |
| LODGING & MEALS | Included in tuition. Bunkhouse-style accommodations and meals provided. |
| TRAVEL | Participants arrange their own travel to Snoqualmie Pass. |
| CERTIFICATION | Wilderness Formation certification as an Ancient Paths leader on completion, plus lifetime content library access. Note: this certifies you in the WF / Ancient Paths methodology. It is not an industry credential like Wilderness First Aid. |
| NEXT COHORT | Dates announced annually. Join the list for the next opening. |
What’s included, what to plan for.
LOGISTICS & REGISGTRATION
Or email John Wayne directly with questions about fit, scholarships, or sending a small team.
Step into the practice.
Ancient Paths Certification Week runs once a year. If God has been forming you through the wilderness and you sense it's time to learn to lead others there, this is the door.