Ascend Outdoor Adventures
About Ascend Outdoor Adventures
Ascend Outdoor Adventures takes people outside for climbing, rappelling, camping, caving, backpacking, hiking, and canoeing, but the real point is what happens along the way. The organization uses those trips to support leadership development, spiritual formation, and community growth, with Adventure for a Lifetime offering under-served youth the chance to participate at no cost. If you care about giving young people, church groups, and first-time adventurers a guided place to grow, this is an organization built around that kind of experience.
Ascend stands out because its trips are not just recreation, they are built as a setting for ministry, leadership, and community. Adventure for a Lifetime serves under-served youth at no cost, and En-Hakkore offers people in ministry a free place for solitude.
Programs
The concrete work this nonprofit runs. Each program may later become a fundable project.
Adventure for a Lifetime
An outreach program started in 2011 for under-served and under-privileged youth. It has become the organization’s primary focus and serves participants at no cost.
Half Day Trips
3 to 4 hour outdoor adventure experiences in the Austin metro area. Participants choose one activity, and technical gear and park entry fees are covered.
Full Day Trips
7 to 8 hour outdoor adventure experiences in the Austin metro area. Groups can combine rock climbing, rappelling, caving, and canoeing, with lunch, technical gear, and park entry fees included.
Weekend Trips
Full weekend outdoor adventures located within about an hour and a half from Austin and San Antonio. Meals are included, and groups need a minimum of 10 participants.
Week Long Trips
Five-day wilderness trips in places such as Big Bend, the Rocky Mountains, Arizona, or Wichita Mountains. Meals, technical gear, and park entry fees are covered.
Summer Camps
Week-long outdoor adventure camps in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico. Options include wilderness, mission, and adventure tracks.
Mission Trips
Church group mission trips and other outdoor expeditions that combine adventure with ministry and service.
Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) activities
Grant-supported outdoor recreation, conservation, and environmental education activities for under-served populations.
Outdoor leadership training for college students and young adults
Training and work opportunities for college students and young adults interested in outdoor leadership ministry, with a focus on students at the University of Texas and Concordia University.
En-Hakkore solitude retreat
A solitude retreat with a small cabin that people in ministry can use for free.
About this work
In their own words — what they do, who it reaches, and what your dollars actually fund.
Mission
Ascend Outdoor Adventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry and educational organization that exists to glorify God and bring individuals closer to Christ and each other through quality outdoor adventure experiences that encourage leadership development, spiritual formation, and community growth.
Who they serve
Under-served youth, church groups, college students and young adults interested in outdoor leadership ministry, and other groups seeking guided outdoor adventure experiences.
Their impact
- Since 2011, served over 1,200 people through Adventure for a Lifetime at no cost to participants.
- Received the Community Outdoor Outreach Program Grant six times since 2011.
How your donation helps
- Equipment needed to lead outdoor adventure groups
- Food and supplies for trips
- Guide fees and other trip fees
- Camping fees and user fees
- Administration needs
- Curriculum development
- Networking with churches
- Support that allows under-served groups to participate for free
Our story
Ascend Outdoor Adventures was founded by Jason and Gera Mann after years in student ministry and outdoor leadership. In 2011, they started Adventure for a Lifetime to reach under-served and under-privileged youth, and that program grew into the organization’s primary focus.
Need help?
How someone in need can access Ascend Outdoor Adventures’s services.
Groups can request a trip through the booking page or contact the organization by email or phone. Under-served youth can participate in Adventure for a Lifetime at no cost, supported by donations and staff fundraising.
Stories
The people behind the work.
In their words
Ascend has the ability to introduce you to the outdoors as a form of worship to our creator God.
safe, loved, and feel known.
Too often we all, myself included, become numb in our own bubble of day to day life of experiencing life through screens of televisions or phones. I want people to experience face to face.
Ways to help
Concrete needs and volunteer roles Ascend Outdoor Adventures has shared.
Current needs
- Support to keep trip costs low for under-served groups
- Special gifts for trips and partnerships that are not in the standard budget
Volunteer opportunities
- Board of directors service
- Community trail day service projects with partnering organizations
Partners & funders
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this nonprofit and how its work happens.
What kinds of activities are part of Ascend trips?
Trips can include rock climbing, rappelling, camping, caving, backpacking, hiking, canoeing, and, on some trips, whitewater paddling.
How are the trip formats different?
Ascend offers half-day, full-day, weekend, week-long, and summer camp options, each with different lengths, locations, and activity mixes.
Does Ascend work with under-served youth?
Yes. Adventure for a Lifetime was created to reach under-served and under-privileged youth, and participants go at no cost.
Are trips custom designed for groups?
Yes. Trips can be tailored to a group’s needs, and the organization says they are designed with first-time participants in mind.
Is there a place for ministry workers to rest?
Yes. En-Hakkore is a solitude retreat with a small cabin that people in ministry can use for free.
Similar nonprofits
Other youth development n.e.c. nonprofits in TX.