A Father’s Search
When Ken became a father in 2011, he wanted to make sure he spent quality time with his son. Like many dads, he thought of the Boy Scouts. But as the organization shifted away from its foundations, he began looking for something different—something Christ-centered, something that would build not only skills but character and faith.
In 2014, Ken came across an article in World Magazine introducing a new movement called Trail Life USA. Its mission to raise godly men of character through outdoor adventure and Christian discipleship struck a deep chord. “This is it,” Ken thought. “This is what I want for my son.”
A Rocky Start
Full of excitement, Ken brought young Max to a nearby Trail Life meeting. What he found was underwhelming—just one leader, no ceremonies, no uniforms, little structure. But while Ken saw what was lacking, Max only saw the playground equipment and loved it.
That night, Ken’s wife asked a simple but life-changing question: “Why don’t you start one at our church?”
Ken hesitated. “I didn’t know the pastors. I didn’t know many men in the church. I didn’t even really know the program,” he recalls. “But I prayed, Lord, Your hand has to be in this. You have to make it happen.”
Waiting on God’s Timing
In 2017, Ken approached Calvary Chapel Chino Hills about starting a Troop. At first, the answer was “not now.” But God had other plans. Months later, in what seemed like a coincidence, Ken bumped into Pastor Jack Hibbs on the church patio.
Pastor Jack explained that he had been quietly meeting with a group of fifty men about the very same burden: the need for a rite of passage for boys to become godly men. A couple of months later Ken met with Pastor Jack and described Trail Life. Pastor Jack responded, “As far as I’m concerned, this is a yes—pending board approval.”
Still, the waiting wasn’t over. Ken pressed on. “One of my pastor friends used to say, if it seems like too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence, it probably isn’t. That’s what I kept seeing—God’s fingerprints everywhere.”
Magnolia’s Faithful Foundation
By the time Calvary Chapel Chino Hills gave the green light in 2022, God had already been laying a foundation. Across town at Magnolia Church in Riverside, Troop CA-0611 had been faithfully serving for years.
Senior Pastor Monty Sensler and his team had tried many different children’s programs over the years, but none seemed to both strengthen families and engage the wider community. When Trail Life came along, it was different.
“We saw Trail Life as a way to help us help parents build godly men,” Pastor Monty explained. “With scouting going in a different direction, Trail Life seemed to be a great extension of our ministry. Parents today are looking for support in raising boys with strong biblical values—and even families who don’t attend church recognize the importance of these values being instilled.”
The Riverside Troop lived that mission. Their boys served shut-ins during COVID, cleaned a two-mile stretch of Magnolia Avenue, helped beautify their church campus before Easter, collected shoeboxes, and even organized large-scale service projects themselves. Families from the community and from other churches joined in. The fruit was obvious—and it stirred a vision for multiplication.
Launching the Troop
So when Chino Hills began to stir with the possibility of a Troop, Magnolia families were ready. A couple of their leaders came alongside to help bolster the launch of Troop CA-2678. In September 2018, the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills board officially approved Trail Life, but the green light to start didn’t come until 2021. Over the following months, leaders were recruited, trained, and equipped with help from Magnolia Church. By August 2022, the Troop launched with more than 20 registered leaders and 110 boys—before they had even announced it publicly.
“People don’t join a what,” Ken says. “They join a why.”
That “why” resonated deeply—not just with fathers like Ken, but with pastors and leaders who had already seen the life-changing impact of Trail Life. Pastor Monty put it this way: “It is such a challenge for parents today to be prepared—and spiritually prepared—for what they will face in the world. Trail Life is a great opportunity to instill biblical values and teach skills in a safe environment where principles from Scripture can be taught.”
That clarity of mission fueled growth. The new Troop quickly filled small patrols, filled up a waiting list, and inspired families in neighboring cities to begin planting Troops of their own. At the same time, Chino Hills launched an American Heritage Girls troop with similar results.
A Ripple Effect Across California
What began with one dad’s prayer for his son has now touched hundreds of lives. Magnolia Church in Riverside birthed Chino Hills, and Chino Hills has helped start other new Troops across the state, crossing denominational boundaries and impacting thousands of families.
The vision is multiplying: Troops that serve their church, bless their communities, and raise boys into godly men who are equipped for leadership. Already, Peak 3 leadership training events are producing not just Trailmen, but pastors and men renewed in their walk with Christ.
Walking Worthy
From discouraging first steps to overflowing waiting lists, the story of Trail Life at Magnolia Church in Riverside and Calvary Chapel Chino Hills is a story of God’s provision. But it is also part of a bigger movement—one Troop planting another, leaders sharing the load, and families across California stepping up to raise a new generation of godly men.
As Pastor Monty reminds us: “Trail Life has the opportunity to do things not many people are doing. Families want their sons to grow up with values, to learn real skills, and to be part of something rooted in Scripture. Trail Life gives us a way to meet that need for our church and for our community.”
What began as one dad’s simple prayer is now a thriving movement of fathers and sons, pastors and churches, all walking worthy together.
Find a Troop near you or Learn how to bring Trail Life to your community at TrailLifeUSA.com
