History

In 1979, Gene Johnston purchased a 300 acre hunting lodge in the beautiful mountains of Northern California. His purpose was to fulfill a promise he had made to the Lord as a young man in his 20's. "If you provide the resources," he told God, "I will invest them in a manner that will have eternal value." Under the direction of Bruce, the eldest son of the twelve Johnston children, the JH Ranch opened its doors and sponsored a two-week Jr. and Sr. High leadership camp known as Second Wind.

Based on the impact the JH Ranch programs have had on teens and their families, Bruce began to envision a time when he could take this life changing message and reach many other families in America and beyond.This vision gave birth to Outback America and its weekend Outback events.

Today, beyond the borders of the JH Ranch, families across America participate in a carefully crafted and distilled JH Ranch Weekend, known as Outback America. Outback America Weekends teach the same programs of practical understanding, fun, and adventure that parents, sons, and daughters have experienced for years in the mountains of Northern California. So far, Outback events have been held in five different locations across three states.

As an organization, Outback America's goal is to strengthen individuals' relationships with God, family members, their church, and their community throughout America and around the world.

Outback is a weekend adventure developed to give parents and youth a practical strategy for daily living. The strategy focuses on the participant's vertical relationship with Christ and their horizontal relationship with family, friends, church and community. During the course of the 48-hour weekend, parents and youth find their lives transformed through inspirational talks that help them develop a daily strategy for life purpose, instill personal standards for moral purity, and begin cultivating a Christ honoring parent/child relationship.

Music and drama, combined with recreation, team-building activities, and small group sessions are some of the exciting activities that make Outback an adventure of a lifetime. Best of all participants are provided with simple ways to take the experience home for life.

God's vision for Outback America was realized in 1996 with the first Outback America weekend in Dallas Texas. A bit different from our current program, the Dallas weekend hosted 1000 teens from across America. In 1997 another Outback weekend was held in which Fathers came with their teens.

Outback America as we know it today was born in Tuscaloosa in 2000, then grew to the Birmingham/Sylacauga weekend in the fall of 2002 and Mobile joined the program in the fall of 2004.