Communicate to Connect

The wilderness has always been a powerful place of worship for Jon. God has enabled him to apply his passion for the outdoors to the advancement of the kingdom. He has been a commercial wilderness guide since 1992 around the U.S., Canada, and the Dominican Republic.

In addition to his wilderness adventures, Jon has been a pastor, Christian school Bible teacher and administrator, public school administrator, and coach. Jon has a master’s degree in theology and has been studying geology in Grand Canyon since 2008.

While Bill’s knowledge of the Grand Canyon is extensive, he specializes in the connection between the Bible, the Flood, and the Grand Canyon. As a Biblical and Hebrew scholar, his background allows him to relate to those of all levels of Biblical understanding.

Bill also serves as one of our river guides and is a member of the Canyon Ministries Board of Directors.

In 2004, they founded Crying Rocks Ministry. They publish a newsletter that is mailed to every street address in Sedona four times a year. The newsletter explains the evidence for a created young earth.

Guy also speaks to churches and creation groups and teaches a 6-class course on creation science yearly in Sedona.

Nate Loper is the Canyon Ministries Director of Rim Tour Operations and Technology. As founder of the Genesis Creation Science Institute he has spoken at various schools, conferences, and churches on a wide variety of creation science and biblical history topics and has given biblical creation tours through museums around the world from Los Angeles to London.

Over the years Nate has led numerous trips to various national parks. If he’s not at the canyon, you might find him out tending to his bees and collecting honey.

After 12 years in youth ministry Nate and his wife Hattie, along with their two beautiful children, Caden and Amelia, moved from the Los Angeles area to Flagstaff, AZ to transplant their ministry and get involved with Canyon Ministries on a regular basis.

Tom Vail founded Canyon Ministries in 1997 after over 15 years of leading trips through the canyon. He began guiding as a non-believer, gave his life to the Lord and began investigating some of the “problems” he always had with the evolutionary explanation he taught on canyon geology. As he learned more about the Biblical model, creation, and the flood, he found it gave a much better explanation of what he saw in the canyon, and it became the focus of the ministry.

Tom is the author of Grand Canyon, a Different View and co-author of the True North Series, which includes guidebooks on the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce, and Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Tom and his wife, Paula, live in Phoenix, AZ when they are not in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. When Paula is on the trip, you are in for a worshipful treat of singing and flute.