Ministry on the Slopes

Captain Bree Barker, a longtime snowboarder and skier, knows that those winter sports provide lessons in perseverance. 

“When you start, you are going to fall a lot. And when you fall in the cold snow with your skis or snowboard, and all your heavy gear on you, it’s a task just to get back up,” says Barker, a pastor at the Troy Temple Corps in upstate New York. 

Despite their challenges, snowboarding and skiing are good sports for networking—building connections with people who can help one’s future. But Barker knows that supplies and lessons are too costly for most families, and Salvation Army children are not usually exposed to these types of activities. 

“I’ve been doing it for years and it’s expensive even for me. But I’ve seen incredible things happen when children try something new,” says Barker. “Oftentimes when they start something that is hard for them, they give up. But perseverance is needed in life. It’s never fun to fall, but staying down isn’t much fun either.” 

Barker brought those life lessons from the slopes to a new ministry while serving at The Salvation Army in Saratoga Springs. 

“Through the local Elks Lodge, I learned about SkiWithMe, a nonprofit whose mission is to teach kids to ski and snowboard, and provide them opportunities to become certified ski instructors who can teach anywhere in the country. Also, the director of SkiWithMe is a Christian who wanted to work with groups that aren’t afraid to openly share their faith.” 

In the winter of 2021, SkiWithMe and The Salvation Army had their first ski day at Willard Mountain in Washington County, N.Y. The Saratoga Springs Corps provided the winter clothing for the children, and SkiWithMe brought instructors. Willard Mountain donated the entry fee and ski rentals. 

“Our first event lasted only one day with about 10 kids. But everyone learned a lot in that one day of skiing,” says Barker. 

The following year, Barker was in Albany, N.Y., and the program was open to Salvation Army churches in Albany, Buffalo, Troy, and Saratoga Springs. Snowboarding lessons were added for older children, and the program increased from one day to three weeks of lessons for 35 children. 

“I remember one child was so excited when he finally went down the bunny slope without falling. Even the first time he got up by himself made him feel so proud,” says Barker. 

“There are also unique opportunities for one-on-one ministry,” she adds. “There’s a lot of time spent on the ski lift as you’re being taken back up the slope for your next ride down. It opens up moments for conversation.” 

Barker recalls a young girl who had a reputation for being disruptive joining the program, even though some had feared that having her on the slope would be dangerous. But after her lessons, the instructors mentioned how well she had behaved. She had even interacted with them and asked questions. 

“She was presented with an opportunity to do something out of her realm, and it changed her,” says Barker. “When you take kids like her from their normal environment to a snowy hill or a mountain for the first time, they realize that there’s so much more in the world they have yet to experience.” 

Did you ‘snow’ that … 

The word ski derives from the Old Norse word skíð, which means a split piece of wood. Snowboarding was originally called snurfing, a mix of snow and surfing. 

Skiing is one of the fastest nonmotorized sports on land. French speed skier Simon Billy set a world record in March 2023, reaching 158.76 miles per hour. Philippe Billy, Simon’s father, once held the record in 1997. 

Snowboarding was introduced to the Winter Olympics in 1998. Today there are 11 separate events in Olympic snowboarding, such as the men’s and women’s halfpipe, parallel giant slalom, and big air. The United States has won the most medals in snowboarding at 35, with 17 of those being gold. 

Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, an avid skier, said astronauts traveling to the moon should learn cross-country skiing as part of their training to make walking on the moon easier. He even imagined that one day, there could be lunar skiing holidays in resorts on the moon. 

American athlete Red Gerard became the youngest snowboarding champion in Olympic history when he won the gold medal at age 17 in the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

Snowboarding has had a direct influence on modern skiing. Snowboarders made activities such as slopestyle and halfpipe popular first. Twin-tip skis, which make balancing and turning easier for beginner skiers, came from a snowboard’s curved design.