Many kids today are unfamiliar with the outdoors. Cross Trail Outfitters (CTO) is changing that by providing an opportunity to get them outdoors and teach them about our hunting and fishing heritage, while sharing our faith.
We want kids to know that life is different than what they see on TV or in video games. There’s a life out in God’s creation, and CTO is all about “Guiding the next generation to Christ through the outdoors.” We provide hunting and fishing, while ensuring a wholesome and fun environment in which the participants can grow in their knowledge and reverence of God.
CTO is primarily for boys ages 7-20, offering a wide range of year-round outdoor activities. There are also opportunities for families and girls to participate in some CTO activities, dependent on the outfitter and volunteers available within a chapter.
Cross Trail Outfitters Inc., is a Christian youth hunting and fishing club under the national umbrella of Cross Trail Outfitters, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit. We are about building relationships with youth, their families, landowners, volunteers and donors. Primarily, we work with boys ages 7-20 by sowing into their lives through discipleship and mentorship, helping them to grow closer to God and seeking God first in their lives through a common interest in the outdoors.
Cross Trail Outfitters is an independent, inter-denominational ministry. Our ministry is based on our Statement of Beliefs, and we are not formally linked with any denomination other than the Biblical Church – that is, the Body of Christ. CTO seeks to teach, mentor and disciple young men through life circumstances while preserving our hunting and fishing heritage.
This episode of SER is my interview with Eric St. Pierre, the Illinois State Director of Cross Trail Outfitters.
Eric’s bio
Eric discovered Cross Trail Outfitters in October of 2009 and fell in love with the three cornerstones: Building Men, Preserving our Heritage, and Sharing our Faith. CTO allows Eric to mentor boys as he himself was mentored as a developing youth. “If it weren’t for the men in my life who decided to take an interest in me when I was young, I don’t know where I would be today. In the town where I grew up there were many opportunities to stray down the wrong path. I am just thankful that the Lord was able to put me in a place where I could see I had a choice to do something different than all my friends, and I hope I can provide that same opportunity to boys today.”
You can contact Eric ‘Bear’ St. Pierre for speaking engagements or any questions about CTO via email: estpierre@teamcto.org or by phone 217-480-2327.
Cross Trail Outfitters website – https://teamcto.org/
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS
Fun interview! Awesome ministry. I was thinking about the kids who are told they have ADD… sitting in a hunting stand for 4 hours, attentively looking for a deer… and one gets a deer after an hour or so, and they sit still for another 3 hours, just talking quietly about true life with a real man. That’s just awesome.
Hi Doug:
Absolutely is awesome. Really enjoyed chatting with Eric – he is a big man with a big heart!
Blessings friend,
Mike
Comments are closed.