Stride Ministries a Christian ministry started in 2015 by Dan and Erin Evans at Hill Air Force Base near Layton, Utah. Find out more below!
"STRIDE" Stands for "Strategically: Teaching, Reaching, Investing, Discipling and Equipping.
MINISTRY DIRECTOR
Friend, dad to Caleb and Audrey, husband to Erin, pastor, outdoor adventurer, Army reserves veteran, big game hunter, paraglider... are all parts of my life as I daily follow Jesus over the years from Wisconsin to Germany to Alaska to Utah.
MINISTRY COORDINATOR
Since 2008, I have been doing life with military peoples. While serving in the Air Force from 2008-2012, I was a C-17 crew chief and crash recovery specialist. When I am not hanging out with Stride folks, I am working my full time job as software engineer. My favorite hobbies are backpacking, tenkara style fly fishing, and snowboarding; but I do love ALL outdoor activities!
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
* Note Stride Ministries has adopted The Evangelical Free Church of America 2019 updated statement of Faith as their Own. The EFC is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions.
Our vision is to reach the lost, disciple the believer; training them to now go, reach, and disciple the lost as the military sends them throughout the world.
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”
1 Thessalonians 2:8
The Great Commandment
Love God, love others.
(Matthew 22:37-39)
The Great Commission
Go and make disciples.
(Matthew 28:18-20)
Love
(caring for one another)
Community
(enjoying life together)
Mentoring
(growing in our faith via discipleship)
We encourage airmen to grow in these areas of leadership:
R esponsible
A vailable
F aithful
T eachable
We want to be balanced when it comes to the:
WORD of God
(studying our bibles)
SPIRIT of God
(being people of prayer)
PEOPLE of God
(fellowship with others)
We want people first and foremost to feel like they BELONG, no matter what! Then, if and when they are ready, to BELIEVE the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After we trust Jesus, He alone can change the way we BEHAVE.
We want our community to be able to quickly share what Stride is about. We made it easy, with these five words:
Food
Fun
Friendship
Family
Faith
Stride is overseen by a Board of Directors, partially made up of actived duty military or prior-service Veterans.
Clicking on any of the board members will display their bio.
Vice chairman
TREASURER AND SECRETARY
Member at Large
Member at Large
Member at Large
Member at Large
Dayton Nelson served many years within military ministries including Club Beyond with MCYM and as an interim fill with Cadence International. Dayton is now a current Naval Officer in recruiting from Minnesota. Dayton has vast experience with the military, military ministry, leadership and training. Dayton and Tammy have three teenage children Cheyenne, Holiday and Garrett.
Ann Evans was employed in the financial services industry for 18 years, working with various investments including Mutual Funds, Unit Investment Trusts, Business Development Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts. During this time, Ann worked closely with financial advisors assisting them with marketing and product information. Prior to her work in the financial services industry, Ann worked as a teacher and now enjoys teaching Sunday school at her local church. She grew up in the Chicago area where she met her husband, Ted Evans. They currently reside in California with their two daughters, Sarah and Hannah. Ann enjoys the outdoors, hiking, bike riding, spending time with her family and their two Italian Greyhounds.
Retired AF Col after 30 years’ service (4 commands), with academic background from the USAF Academy, 3 master’s, and a PhD. He is still in academics as the executive director and dean of Wayland Baptist University-Alaska, where he has been for 8 years. His ministry involvement has been with Officer’s Christian Fellowship, home Bible studies for 25 years, seminary studies with Fuller Theological Seminary, board member of Young Life-Alaska, and lots of pulpit supply/preaching at various churches. His personal statement is to try to glorify God in everything, which includes sharing the Gospel of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He enjoys adventure--and God has richly blessed him with the opportunity to serve at Wayland and to live in one of the most beautiful and exciting places on earth. His interests include skiing, running, climbing, hunting, fly-fishing, sailing, wind-surfing, mountain biking, painting, and playing the violin. His wife is Dawn, and he has two married sons, Austin (with Katie) and Andy (with Carrissa).
Pete Saunders is an active duty Air Force officer and has been in military service since 2011. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Florida State University in Atmospheric Science. He currently is attending the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in pursuit of his PhD in Atmospheric Science. Pete grew up in Southern Maryland prior to attending school in Florida and then joining the military. So far, he has served at Barksdale AFB, LA; Kunsan AF, Republic of Korea and Hill AFB, UT. His academic studies at the University of Utah are part of an active duty tour through the Air Force Institute of Technology. His main goal in life is to glorify God, and to be a witness and mentor to others, with the ultimate objective of bringing others to the Lord. He has been involved with STRIDE Ministries for the past 16 months in which he has attended and led many outdoor events as well as Bible studies and spiritual discussions. He enjoys running, hiking, off-roading in his Jeep, skiing and storm chasing for tornadoes. He is very excited to be a new board member of STRIDE Ministries.
Ray Vickery was born at an early age in 1990, and is from Ellenboro, NC. He came to faith in Christ through the compassion and kindness of teachers at Trinity Middle School at the age of 11, and has had a heart for ministry through teaching ever since. He met the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on (his wife), Candace Frankin Vickery in high-school, and they married just after college in the summer of 2011.
Immediately after college Ray began his career as an Engineer officer, starting with training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and followed by assignment to 4-25 Infantry Brigade (Airborne) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. There Ray and Candace welcomed their three children into the world; Anna (2), Peter (1), and Benjamin (born July 2015). That is also where they met Dan Evans and became involved with the military ministry there.
Dan Evans has been a pastor with the Evangelical Free Church of America since 1990, having received his undergraduate education from Trinity University, and his graduate degree from Colorado Christian University. Dan has a diverse background that includes years of ministry and leadership experience. After serving five years in the Army Reserves, and 16 years with chapel military communities in Germany under Cadence International, Dan pioneered a new ministry in Alaska (in 2007) called Mountain Chapel Hospitality House (MCHH). The purpose of MCHH was to offer a ministry that would reach, disciple, and provide leadership development for service members stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. After passing on this very fruitful and successful ministry to missionary partners, Dan felt led to begin a new ministry at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Under the advice and guidance of a team of veteran ministers and professionals, Dan began a new non-profit organization called STRIDE Ministries. It is under this new organization that Dan operates as he partners with the chaplains at Hill AFB to begin a new ministry in the summer of 2015.