What happens when a Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel realizes that medals, missions, and mental health treatment still aren’t enough?

Rick Wolf spent decades leading Marines. He watched warriors come home broken in ways that therapy alone couldn’t reach. What he found was a deeper wound, one rooted not in trauma but in identity. And he built an entire organization around addressing it.

Soul Survivor Outdoor takes active duty service members into the outdoors and creates space for the kinds of conversations that don’t happen in a clinical setting. Rock climbing. Whitewater rafting. Horseback riding. Not as therapy, but as a doorway. A way to lower defenses and open people to something more lasting than coping strategies.

In this episode, Rick and I talk about how Soul Survivor Outdoor started at 29 Palms with wounded Marines and no real plan, how the organization expanded from California to Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, and eventually Poland, what it looks like to scale a ministry without losing the relational core that makes it work, and why 30 to 40 percent of service members who attend a single day program walk away having made a spiritual decision.

This conversation is for anyone leading an organization built around people. The principles Rick lives by, authenticity over polish, relationship over program, identity over achievement, are the same ones that determine whether any mission-driven work actually holds together over time.

Host Jordan Ames asked Rick Wolf, “Do you ever feel like your biggest obstacle is just figuring out how to start?”

Rick shares when he started Soul Survivor Outdoor, he didn’t have all the answers. He had doubts, fears, and zero clarity on how to make it work. But each step of obedience opened doors he never imagined, especially when he trusted God with what he had.

It’s not about being perfect or fully prepared; it’s about saying “Yes” and trusting that God will do the rest. Like Peter stepping out on water—it’s risky, but that’s where faith grows.

Are you holding back because you’re waiting to feel more qualified? Remember, God uses those willing to move—even imperfectly—to do incredible things. So what’s the first step you need to take today?

Trust Him, take the leap, and watch how He supplies the rest.

Deputy Director and Colorado Area Director Randy Garcia recently joined James Fiddler on 100.7 FM The Word’s Community Insights to discuss the mission and impact of Soul Survivor Outdoor’s program for active-duty service members.

The wide-ranging conversation covered Randy’s background in the Marine Corps, his years in cybersecurity contracting, and his current leadership role overseeing SSO’s work in Colorado Springs. They discussed how outdoor adventure and spiritual fitness build resilience and what a typical day with SSO looks like for service members.

Randy emphasized the importance of identity as a foundational element of resilience—sharing how SSO programs intentionally point service members toward an understanding of identity grounded in Christ. As he put it, “Every name has a story, and every story matters to God.”

At the core of each program is the presentation of the Gospel message, with the goal of helping service members understand the hope and new life found in Christ—an eternal life that begins today.