Peterson Outdoors Ministries Encounter Weekends Give Veterans, First Responders Hope for the Future

Peterson Outdoors Ministries (POM)/Lodge of Hope (LOH) Veterans Encounters Fast Facts

Headquarters: Lodge of Hope is located at 26756 S. 2440 Rd., Sheldon, Missouri. Mailing address is P.O. Box 469, Webb City, MO 64870. Website is www.petersonoutdoors.org.    

Contact: Executive Director Tron Peterson  

Phone: 417.529.0115  

Email: tron@petersonoutdoors.org

The Great Outdoors: POM has 214 acres, a private 35-acre lake with lots of fish and allows for numerous outdoor activities, such as hunting, fishing, boating, kayaking, shooting sports, archery, hiking, camping and horseback riding.  

Not for Profit: Peterson Outdoors Ministries, as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, provides all events at no cost, including covering travel expenses, food, lodging, licenses, permits and outdoor therapy.  

Encounter Weekends: Attendees arrive on Friday evening and the event ends on Sunday afternoon. During the weekend there is a five-hour break where attendees go fishing, boating and kayaking, shoot clay pigeons, ride side-by-sides, throw axes and much more.

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As Peterson Outdoors Ministries (POM) and the Lodge of Hope (LOH) has continued striving to serve veterans, first responders and their families, one of the most important initiatives that has proven more profound in recent years is life-altering “Encounter” weekends designed to help those in attendance find a higher purpose for living with divine intervention through God Almighty.  

POM Director Tron Peterson recounts a personal one-on-one conversation more than 15 years ago that first sparked a possibility for these types of programs to happen one day at LOH, and he says, “Veteran’s Encounter is an amazing story with how it got started. In 2008, I went to one of the first Men’s Encounters in Missouri (Camp Barnabas).  

“It was life-changing for me. It was an event that featured 14 sessions of teachings and testimonies on topics such as Forgiveness, Free from the Past, 4 Pillars of a Man, Idols in our Lives, Fathers and Sons, Marriage, Spiritual Warfare and more to help men to be the best husbands, fathers and leaders they can be.”    

As for his personal encounter, Tron says, “There was a combat veteran there who had a bad headache, and he was laying down in another room. Since I’d started a veteran’s ministry (2006), the leader at this Encounter Weekend asked me to talk to the veteran who wasn’t feeling well and pray with him.  

“When I went in the room, I asked the veteran what was going on. He told me he had a bad headache. He also told me he was a combat veteran, and it was hard for him to be in a room with a bunch of guys he didn’t know, because it made his anxiety worse.  

“I prayed for him and asked if there was ever an Encounter Weekend just for veterans, would he feel better about going.  

“He told me it would lessen his anxiety, as well as allow him to enjoy the weekend more and better understand the teachings, especially while being together with other veterans. I made a commitment that someday I’d start an all-Veteran’s Men’s Encounter.”  

Fast-forward about a dozen years and the pieces start coming together.  

Tron says, “In late 2020, I received a phone call from a good friend (Joey Spiva). I answered and he said, ‘God told me to call you, but I have no idea what it is about.’  

“I responded, ‘I don’t know what it is about either.’ At the end of the conversation, I said, ‘Well, I don’t know why God had you call me, but before we hang up, I wanted to tell you about something I’ve had on my mind for years.’ I wanted him to pray about it.”  

It snowballed from there, and Tron says, “I told Joey God had put on my heart to start an all-Veteran’s Men’s Encounter in 2008. Joey said, ‘That’s it. That’s why God had me to call you. I’ve helped with Encounters since 2008 and helped lead and start them. I can help you.’  

“I was so excited and from that point forward, we started planning. In March 2021, we had the first-ever in the U.S. all-Veteran’s Men’s Encounters. We had two of them in 2021.”  

It has grown rapidly from there. Tron says, “In June 2022, we added an Encounter for First Responders. So, starting in 2022, we had three Encounter Weekends for veterans and first responders.  

“Since that time, we’ve had 14 Veteran’s and First Responders Men’s Encounters, and this year, we had the first-ever Veteran’s Women’s Encounter. Over the course of the Encounters, we’ve had 67 baptisms and stopped more than four dozen suicides from happening because of these inspirational and uplifting weekends.”  

Getting a stronger sense of the impact these Encounters has on an individual comes from attendees like Michael Hochstetler (Army, 82^nd Airborne), who says, “One day, out of the blue, I got a call from Tron, asking me if I’d be available to attend a Veteran’s Men’s Encounter at the Lodge of Hope.  

“It was a life-changing experience. On day two, they were baptizing a few people. I volunteered to get baptized, thinking I would get accepted to heaven in a little over a month when I planned to hang myself from my hunting tree stand on the anniversary of the day and time my son had passed away.”  

God had something else in mind, and Michael says, “When I was lowered and then raised up out of the water, all the feelings I had about hanging myself were washed away.  

“If it was not for this experience, I would have hung myself Oct. 22, 2024, at 10:16 a.m. POM saved my life. My family is so thankful for all that POM has done for us.”  

Charles Moore (Army and Coast Guard veteran) believes POM is a lifesaver as well, and he says, “Tron gave me an invite that changed my life. I tried twice to take my life. I was living in a dark place.  

“They (POM) changed my mindset, to believe there are people that care about me and other veterans. I’ve been to two Veteran’s Men’s Encounters and I’m a changed man for it.  

“I was baptized and became a Child of God at POM. Words cannot express the way it changes you, and the feeling it gives you. I have a new family at POM. And I can’t thank them enough for all the changes in my life.”  

First Responder Brent Clissold (Torrance Police Department, Los Angeles County, California) says, “What Tron has built at Lodge of Hope is more than a retreat. It’s a sanctuary for healing, faith and brotherhood. His vision and compassion have impacted countless lives, including mine. And his dedication continues to ripple through every person who passes through those doors.”  

After previously attending two of these Encounters, Brent’s world has turned around dramatically.  

“I have a beautiful wife who has stood by me through every challenge,” he says. “She is the rock of our family and my greatest supporter. Together, we are raising three amazing boys. I feel more present in their lives than ever before.  

“Our family has grown stronger in faith and unity. We even created a family crest based on Ephesians 6:16: ‘Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.’ Our family lives by three words – faith, family and fitness – and the Lodge of Hope played a tremendous part in helping me discover all three.”    

Tron is overjoyed with what is transpiring here, and he says, “I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt these Veterans’ and First Responders’ Men’s and Women’s Encounters are changing the lives of men and women veterans from across the nation.  

“We know for certain in 2025 that we’ve stopped more than 13 suicides from taking place and seen dozens of veterans recommit their lives to God and to their families.  

“It’s all about the cross and what Jesus does for anyone who wants to find the freedom only He can give.  

“The veteran suicides across our nation is an epidemic. Peterson Outdoors Ministries is leading the fight to help stop veteran and first responder suicides through these highly impactful events.”    

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