A New Home for Compass

Gordon College’s La Vida Center for Outdoor Education and Leadership has recently adopted a new program for high school students called Compass. Through three consecutive expeditions—in the wilderness, theology and ministry—Compass offers life-changing leadership development experience.

During the month-long program, students backpack through the Adirondack mountains of New York, study theology under renowned professors at nearby Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Gordon, and travel abroad to places like Iceland and Nicaragua to serve and minister in a cross-cultural context.

Though new to Gordon’s campus, Compass has been providing this type of experience to high school students around the globe for the past 15 years. In 2001, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary catalyzed Compass from idea to reality, and has since served over 350 students throughout the program’s growth. Along the way Gordon has been a close partner, housing Compass students on campus and hosting the Adirondack expedition through La Vida. This month, just after 30 new students completed their summer Compass adventure, that partnership took a strategic turn by transitioning ownership to Gordon, under the La Vida Center for Outdoor Education and Leadership.

Program director Bryn Clark is a native of Ohio and a graduate of Gordon-Conwell. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys kayaking, running, backpacking, alpine climbing, mountaineering and downhill and cross-country skiing. Bryn and his wife, Mollie, live in neighboring South Hamilton.