New Trails Ministry
11455 Elliot Road
PO Box 631
Custer, SD 57730
PO Box 631
Custer, SD 57730
Phone: 605-760-3633
Email: info@newtrailsministry.org
Email: info@newtrailsministry.org
New Trails offers three, five or ten day sabbaticals that are customized to your needs, are designed to help you reconnect with God who has called you to service and can assist you in recovering that joy. As a long term ministry couple, we know firsthand the joys and challenges of full time service, and combined with our wilderness locations we provide the place, space and direction to assist you in creating the space to recover your passion for ministry.
Thinking About the Wilderness
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenMy Father-in-Law loaned me a book a week or so ago with an interesting title, The Book of Mysteries, by Jonathan Cahn. Cahn writes the book based on Jewish wisdom literature and uses the motif of a student and teacher to convey his message. I have seen a lot of these and generally don’t do… | Read More
Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenDoes anyone really know what time it is? A philosophical question embedded in a rock song from my early adolescence. However, that existential question remains vital even today if we as the church of Jesus Christ are to stay focused on that call to be the Body of Christ in a particular time and place…. | Read More
Finding Your Footing
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenBefore we left Yankton a friend loaned me a book entitled, Thank You for Being Late, I know I have referenced this book before, but it seems every few pages this author comes up with a tidbit that sends me on a tangent. The tangent of the moment concerns stability, or what does it mean… | Read More
Life in the Not So Fast Lane
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenI am sitting on the deck of my cabin as I work with the wonders of modern technology, a laptop computer. However, today, like most days at the cabin, this one isn’t connected to the outside world, unless you consider it is truly outside in the world! But life in this part of South Dakota… | Read More
Lessons to be Learned in the Wilderness
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenBy now you know that I love the wilderness. There is something about being in a place bigger than you are that challenges and enriches in a way that a trip to an urban location just cannot do. I have written before about how God has used the wilderness in dealing with his people on… | Read More
Christianity as Adventure.
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenI don’t know if you remember the movie Top Gun with Tom Cruise, but I do. One of the songs that seemed to catalyze the movie was “Danger Zone” by Kenny Logins. Being a fan of action adventure movies, just hearing that song reminds me of the scenes of jets screaming though the air, of… | Read More
What Sets New Trails Apart?
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenWhat is it that sets New Trails apart from some other ministry support processes that are available to pastors today? I cannot tell you that our staff, me and my wife, are more highly trained or dedicated than anyone else. Everyone I know of who is involved in caring for and supporting pastors and others… | Read More
Why The Wilderness
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenYou may wonder why New Trails is located in a wilderness location. We are in a remote location first and foremost is because this is where I see God speaking to his people most often. Take a look through the Bible, God often used the wilderness to speak to or shape his people for their… | Read More
Failure is Never Forever
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenOver the years I have been privileged to lead chapel devotions for the Lewis and Clark Scout Camp. Looking over the assembled group of boys and leaders, I generally attempt to strike a note of support and encouragement, to remind them that as Scouts and even adult leaders, too often we find the life is… | Read More
Why You need a Wilderness Sabbatical
/in General /by Rod VeldhuizenAt New Trails our signature ministry is a wilderness sabbatical. I initially set it up this way, because I love to hike and backpack and I think nothing is more fulfilling than spending a day in God’s creation. Based on my own personal preference, and the fact that God allowed us to purchase a little… | Read More