HISTORY
The History of Cross Trail Outfitters
Cross Trail Outfitters is a network of locally-based units coordinated by a Central Office. Each unit is run by a full-time staff Outfitter and supported by local volunteers and donors. Outfitters build relationships with and minister to boys and young men ages 7-20 through year-round hunting and fishing outings, club gatherings, skills training, community service projects, competitive teams, mentorship, leadership development, summer camps and international mission trips.
Beginnings
After pioneering Christian hunting and fishing summer camps starting in 2002, Mike and Amy Arnold founded Cross Trail Outfitters as a year-round youth hunting and fishing club in Fall 2004.
Mike led the first CTO outing that December, with two volunteers and seven teenage boys. The first summer camp under the CTO banner, a single session with 10 campers, was held Summer 2005.
The unique concept of a Christian youth hunting and fishing club, coupled with an uncompromising focus on personal relationships, quality and integrity, caused the organization to quickly catch on.
Early Growth
As demand grew, Mike began looking for a full-time Outfitter to take over the San Antonio unit and, after posting the opening on a free youth ministry website, received some 100 applications from all over the USA. Clearly, demand existed not just among youth, but also among potential local staff leaders.
Out of those applicants, there were five they couldn’t turn down — pioneering men of faith who were called to help establish this new ministry. With little more than faith, enthusiasm and the belief that they’d found the most powerful method possible for reaching young men, the first five CTO Outfitters jumped in head-first and began to build the club in their communities.
Milestones
With hard work, God’s favor, and the support of faithful volunteers and donors, CTO’s pioneers have in a few years built an organization that now has a sizable impact.
We now have seven full-time units in communities across Texas and into Louisiana, and we’re preparing to launch in Missouri in September 2009. Each unit organizes year-round outings and gatherings, including popular Guys Nights Out and Family Nights.
Our 2008 summer camps featured seven full sessions, led by two separate teams on different ranches, with a total of 74 campers from 12 states. We are expecting more than 100 campers in eight sessions in Summer 2009.
We’ve taken hundreds of kids on their First Hunts, started publishing the quarterly TeamCTO Sportsmen’s Journal, led teams of youth on rugged international mission trips three years in a row.
