What People Are Saying
I found the week to be a time to deepen my relationship with God and better live out my call. I am also convinced that ALI is uniquely positioned to be used by God in a mighty way to bring about a renewal of servant leadership within the Anglican Church.
— The Rev. Tripp Prince
Thank you SO much for coordinating the ALI trip for Bishops. This was a great time to build bridges within the Anglican world and leadership. The fellowship, the teaching, and the coaching will go a long way to further Jesus’ kingdom.
— Archbishop Foley Beach
From start to finish this trip was outstanding – bathed in the Holy Spirit in the midst of God’s majesty! What a joy it was to have my calling reaffirmed and my leadership challenged to grow. I would recommend this trip for any leader in the church.
— Bishop Eric Menees
I heard from God in a profound and affirming way, and the leaders, their vision and their heart, made that possible.
— The Rev. Chris Myers
I’ve been to many leadership seminars, spiritual retreats, peer gatherings and ALI has brought the best of all of them into one amazing life changing experience.
— The Rev. Jed Roseberry
God has used ALI to bring a renewed focus and joy for ministry and to bring me back from the brink of burnout. Thank you Jesus!
— The Rev. Andrew O’Dell
The ALI trip was amazing. I felt encouraged by the other guys and inspired by our time in the mountains. The coaching time was super insightful. I am grateful for the community, the challenge of the mountains, and the encouragement I received from the LORD.
— The Rev. Kris McDaniel
This trip was perfect timing for me, as I am at a crossroads in my ministry career. The direction of the curriculum lead me to address key issues, the leadership gave wise counsel, and I came away with a clearer idea of where God was leading me.
— The Rev. Bill Henry
The ALI retreat was tremendous. Re-engaging in my unique sense of call was exactly what I needed at a very deep heart level. The other pastors on the trip were amazing. From laughter and encouragement to peer coaching, I benefited greatly from the trip.
— The Rev. Jon Holland
I am extremely grateful for my week on the ALI Sailing Trip. It was a wonderful week that helped me be renewed and refocused for my ministry. I needed an opportunity to meet the Lord with other pastors and that’s exactly what ALI provided.
— The Rev. Patrick Wildman
The BVI sailing trip provided wonderful ‘spaces’ to grow closer to Jesus, reflect on His call to ministry, and helped me to be better equipped for life’s next chapter. This was the best leadership training event and retreat I have attended in 34 years of ordained ministry.
— The Rev. Bruce Chamberlain
Living and experiencing the Seven Spaces over seven days refreshed me and gave me clarity as I heard from God. It was quality time with Godly men who loved me, cared for me and allowed me to love and care for them. Thank you for this time of re-creation!
— The Rev. Joe Acanfora
I thank the Lord for the Divine appointment he ordained for my North American Anglican colleagues and me through ALI. To use the language of the leadership of ALI, we were given ideal ‘spaces’ to engage our vocations as individual rectors and our common vocation as a movement. What a combination of adventure, laughter, hope, growth, and anointed fellowship! It was just what I needed for such a time as this.
— The Very Rev. Peet Dickinson
In the course of the week, the Lord increased my dependence on Him, recalibrated and renewed my heart, and set me free to press on with the upward call of Christ on my life. It is my expectation, and my hope and prayer, that ALI will be used by the Holy Spirit to help pioneer a new day for Anglican leadership in a Church and among Nations that are so desperately lacking passionate and godly leaders.
— Bishop TJ Johnston
I came to the ALI trip at a critical point when I was wrestling with ministry discouragement and burnout. I knew I needed to make changes in the way I lead but did not know what to do. I almost felt as if the trip, and especially the teachings, were crafted just for me. And, of course, they were! Thank you.
— The Rev. David Brannen
My week on the ALI trip was a tremendous blessing. It provided me with a chance to connect with peers, connect with and learn from pastors farther ahead, provided a space for rest and reflection, and brought clarity about my identity in Christ, His love and His call on my life.
— The Rev. Peter Coelho
This was truly the most significant experience I have had in almost 10 years of ministry. I believe that ALI may be the vehicle that draws our nascent and loosely connected community of Anglicans in North America together for the years and decades ahead of us. This [trip] has renewed my hope for our church in the future.
— The Rev. Dr. Ryan O’Dowd
God has used ALI to bring greater clarity to my ministry, transformation to my life and long-term community. I can’t say enough about ALI’s importance in my continued development and it’s power to influence churches and leaders for generations to come.
— The Rev. Jay Wright
The ALI Sailing trip was a life changing experience. A time to get away with other clergy to reflect on ministry and leadership, to learn, to be encouraged, to pray and be inspired to continue in parish ministry with a renewed sense of Gods goodness and love.
— The Rev. David Thurlow
ALI is vital to gospel Anglicanism in North America. I will always be thankful for my time with ALI, for the ministry clarity gained and the friendships forged in the wilderness of Colorado. My life and ministry are richer.
— The Rev. R. D. Glenn
This week in Colorado has done as much for the Kingdom as the GAFCON conference in Jerusalem. Thank you for the value of great adventure in the high country as it simplified life to the basic elements of loving each other and loving God. I am deeply enriched by the gift ALI offered to me.
— The Rt. Rev. Trevor Walters
Our retreat in the mountains was stretching physically, mentally and spiritually. In all three areas the Father met and worked in and through us. It was a great blessing to see that even though our church includes a wide range of tendencies liturgically speaking, styles and giftings, that all the Bishops were on the same page about the main thing: the proclamation of Jesus to a hurting world and the necessity of personal transformation by the power of the Spirit. This reality brought us together. The retreat was crucial in reminding us of that irreplaceable center where we must return and renew our calling and ministry.
— Bishop Frank Lyons
ALI was a Godsend to me. The perfect size group, 12 on a boat in BVI, made conversation and mutual encouragement easy. The natural beauty cleared my head and soul, and made me receptive to what God wanted to do in my life. I received personal coaching that helped me to frame some important issues in my church. I received much personal inner healing through Bishop Trevor’s amazing ministry. What an amazing vision from God ALI embodies. Very well executed. It was full and thoughtfully executed all the way. This is an amazing and unique ministry that is pioneering a very effective model for personal renewal.
— The Rev. Clancy Nixon
This was a life changing, renewing, liberating, experience; one I will give thanks for the rest of the my life. Under the exceptional leadership of the team, I experienced authentic fellowship, deep joy, and felt the presence of the Lord in a way I rarely have before. Wherever the Lord leads in the future, I will hold this week as a defining moment in my journey. I know I am not the same man as I was a week ago, and feel a renewed desire to serve the church of Jesus Christ. Praise God for the Anglican Leadership Initiative!
— The Rev. David Booman
God used the ALI trip to bring both new clarity to my ministry calling and needed refreshment and renewal to my soul. It was a joy to have this week away with fellow pastors and to be built up in the Lord by the teaching, discussions, and prayer. I highly recommend the ALI trips for any pastor who wants to keep being challenged and desires to keep serving the church from a place of health and vision.
— The Rev. Christian Ruch
ALI provided me with an experience of a lifetime to hear clearly from The Lord and get needed direction for ministry.
— The Rev. Mark Eldridge
The ALI Assistants’ trip provided an excellent opportunity to intentionally seek the Lord for clarity and focus in my spiritual giftedness and ministry calling. To revisit my call to ordained ministry, last really explored some five years ago in committees and meetings, was a tremendous source of encouragement – realizing that God has brought me right where he wants me to be. It was also a time of challenge – What gifts are being developed in me? In what areas do I need growth? How do these things play out in my ministry? These questions were explored as a group and in one-on-one coaching sessions with great feedback and practical steps to take upon our return. Overall, it was a great, Spirit-filled weekend full of fun, great fellowship from Anglicans across the US, and intentional ministry discernment that will, God willing, continue to guide my ministry for years to come.
— The Rev. Tyler Prescott
This trip has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. The environment created by the leaders made for an amazingly intentional time of fun, community, and hearing God’s voice. The space created served me perfectly to be able to get away and find rest and to be able to hear the Father’s voice as he spoke, calling into me with amazing clarity. It was everything I needed in this time and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be with, or a better experience. Thank you!
— The Rev. Joel Fulton
This ALI weekend help clarify my call and give me the confidence to live into with boldness over the next season of ministry. The ALI week cultivated a greater sense of unity among the broader Anglican Communion. Most all the guys I have never met before and after spending the week in a shared experience and much conversation, I would go to bat for these guys. I trust them deeply and am privileged to serve alongside them. Thanks for all you did/do.
— The Rev. Billy Waters
Only time will tell, but this may have been the most significant week of my life in terms of bringing clarity to my calling and ministry and challenge to wait on the Lord for what lies ahead. Thanks be to God.
— The Rev. Jonathan Millard
So many things happened in our time together. It was like a liturgy, the “work of the people.” Every day there was prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and communion all in an environment that stressed us physically and mentally. Out of our comfort zones 12,000 feet above sea level, fishing in mountain lakes, hiking, 4 nights in a tent, catching our food, prayer, hanging upside down while rappelling, and a whole day to just be with the Lord. The more I poured myself into this liturgy of life and God, the closer I got to Him and others. I wept, laughed, groaned, served, listened and felt the love of God, of others, renewed my call to ministry and was encouraged in how God has called me to lead. I am deeply grateful to those who made this possible. It was a transformative time for me. I especially enjoyed being coached, which called me to reflect deeply about the faith God has given me and how He has uniquely called each of us. I know that the trust built up with the other bishops has and will bear fruit for Anglicanism in North America. This is the fruit of good, well-planned liturgy.