Our Mission

“Guiding our youth and Outdoorsmen to a Relationship with Christ through Experiences in God’s Great Outdoors”

Christian Outdoor Alliance was founded in 2002 by our CEO, Michael Marbach. Our early goal was to offer a “Best in Class” hunting and fishing adventure that would serve to guide our youth to a stronger relationship with Christ through hands-on, in-the-field instruction in leadership, hunting, and fishing skills. All of our counselors have strong Christian beliefs and are very successful in helping our campers grow spiritually and gaining a better appreciation for the Bible. And at the same time, they learn values and skills that will help them succeed in the world well beyond their camp experience. Our youth programs have continued to develop over the past eleven years and have proved to be powerful, life-changing experiences for all involved.

Many of the children that we are reaching out to come from families that are struggling financially and cannot afford to send their kids to camps or retreats. Our summer Adventure Camps have hosted children from the Boysville Orphanage, as well as a number of boys and girls from foster homes. We have also served a large number of kids from single-parent homes that have the desire to be involved in Christian Outdoor Activities but simply cannot afford it. To accommodate those who can’t afford our camps, we offer a raffle ticket system with great prizes providing campers a way to earn their own camp tuition. We also raise scholarship funds and offer flexibility in payment.

Following on the heels of our summer Adventure Camps, COA embarked on a series of winter camps, weekend youth outings, retreats, and Veteran outings. In the process, COA has earned significant positive attention from outdoor writers and television producers across the country.

We are proud to have helped numerous young adults find and /or build on their relationship with Christ. COA has hosted over 1,000 children in our summer camps and has hosted an additional 3,000 children in our weekend youth hunt programs and winter camps.

Please take a moment to look at some of the pictures and videos from our camps and retreats, as well as a sample of the positive letters that come to us weekly. Although this is just a snapshot of our program, you can see the impact the outdoors can have on kids when given the opportunity to experience it through Christ’s Love.

God Bless,

Craig Niederstadt

Former Chairman, Christian Outdoor Alliance