ABOUT US
Why be a part of Great Forest Ministry? The simple answer is because the world needs it.
Almost everyone is worried about the future of the global climate and our environment. Unfortunately, our society is too distracted by electronic devices, always in a hurry to achieve meaningless accolades and material things, and living in an online fantasy world of greed, envy, and lust, rather than using that energy to solve big problems. How do we fix this? One small step at a time. God has been working together with humanity little by little to bring about heaven on earth for thousands of years and we are not stopping now.
“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” - Matthew 6:9-10
Because time and resources are always limited, how do we get the most bang for our buck and work most effectively? Love. GFM focuses on love! It’s the most powerful force in the universe and it’s a free gift from God. By encouraging young people to fill their hearts with God’s love, we are better able to educate, motivate, and empower tomorrow’s leaders. We’re not just working to change the world today. We’re starting projects that will continue across generations. We provide opportunities and tools to enable more and more people to continue the work. Jesus guides us along this journey.
Love is a better motivator than money. When someone is working to help people they care about, they’re unstoppable. GFM then combines that love with a sense of purpose created by being good stewards of the earth. Planting trees to reforest the earth is one of the many ways we can do this and it’s such a simple effective way to help.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” - Genesis 1:26
We believe this is a great responsibility. Jesus taught us that a righteous king lives in service to his subjects. If humanity is to rule over the earth as God truly intended, then we must dedicate our lives not only in service to God, but also His creation.
In a sense, we’ve been tasked with replanting the Garden of Eden.
As an independent ministry, GFM has a lot more flexibility than traditional churches. Our focus on love, having fun, and helping the environment attracts a larger, more diverse group of people who might not be interested in attending a typical church service.
This enables us to share the Gospel with those who might not otherwise be open to it, while at the same time, helping other Christians deepen their faith and build a stronger, more personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When we can teach someone who has never heard or understood the Gospel message that God loves them so much that Christ suffered and died for them to be forgiven, that is a huge success. When we provide Christians the opportunity for fellowship and to grow their faith and love for God, that too is a success.
“So he told them this parable: “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’. I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.” - Luke 15: 3-7
GFM organizes events to not only be a lot of fun to attend, but to also inspire a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment from having worked to overcome challenges, help others, and learn to love and be loved. This appeals to all people, not just Christians, and provides a wonderful opportunity for fellowship for all.
mEET THE FOUNDERS
Great Forest Ministry was founded by two people who could never sit still in church and felt closer to God running around barefoot in the woods or shirtless in the ocean. People who wrestled with faith and rebelled against God before finally understanding the truth. We are people who have surrendered our hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ. We learn more and more everyday about how to serve Him, and strive to continuously find life in God through the power of the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of Jesus. Because God has loved us so much, we want to share His unconditional love with others.
GFM is the life’s work of Ryan Valliere and Ryan Grether. These two were childhood friends who grew up together in San Luis Obispo, California. After high school, their lives took separate paths, they attended college in different states, and eventually drifted apart. Then, after nearly two decades, while both working separately to gain the experience necessary for this next chapter of life, God brought their paths back together here on Maui and Great Forest Ministry was born.
THE RYANS
RYAN VALLIERe
Ryan Valliere has 17 years of professional ministry experience at multiple churches of various denominations working on building and sustaining youth and young adult ministries. He’s a licensed pastor with a seminary masters degree in Christian ministry and leadership with an emphasis in building and growing non-profits. Ryan’s focus in life is to leave people and places better than he found them. Even with his extensive experience, the most important line on Ryan’s resume is his heart for people. Ryan’s deepest passion is helping young people to know God and His love for them by enabling them to achieve their greatest calling of God’s plan for their life.
Ryan Grether
Ryan Grether has 18 years of experience in the construction industry, and 12 in management. He has been a builder of infrastructure projects, business organizations, and now people. During his college days, Ryan learned to take on big challenges and overcome fear by spending his summers sleeping in a port-a-ledge dangling from 3,000 ft of vertical granite on his way to the top of Yosemite’s El Capitan. On Maui, Ryan has successfully started and grown multiple businesses in not only the construction and real estate industries, but also boating and tourism. He brings a for-profit mindset to a non-profit space by applying rigorous discipline to get work done efficiently, meet deadlines, and ensure that investment capital is well cared for and put to work judiciously. Even with the myriad of financial successes, Ryan’s greatest achievement is dedicating his life in service to Jesus Christ.
