Business in the U.S. National Parks
“How do you treat people and our physical planet in ways that are honorable to the call of God’s stewardship on our lives?” This is the question that Business Leadership Professor Marc Andreas and a group of business leadership students sought to answer during their first trip last year to the national parks of California with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP).
ACMNP was founded in 1951 in Yellowstone National Park with the objective of “providing Christian community for the people working in, living in, and visiting the national parks.” Today, they minister in 25 national parks from Alaska to the Virgin Islands. The ministry seeks to help people in the parks “experience the glory of God by seeing it firsthand.”
During their trip to the National Parks, the 15 students visited Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and three other California state parks. At each, students met with park leaders to hear how they run the parks. At Yosemite, they learned that the park has almost six million visitors each year and a staff of 1,500 running not only the park, but also seven hotels and restaurants. During their time there, students learned how such a large enterprise is managed—from developing budgets, to handling sanitation, and using social media to promote the Park and communicate with visitors.
In May of 2020, another group of students in the business leadership program will be joining ACMNP to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in Denver, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.
Professor Andreas hopes that this trip will give weight to the calling God has placed on His people to have an oversight over creation.