The Work Programs are an integral part of life at the Ranch.

The Work Program serves several purposes:

1. To maintain the property. With 86 acres, there is a lot of maintenance that needs to be done. The Ranch has a Foreman and an Assistant Foreman who are responsible for making sure that the property is maintained, but there are far too many tasks for two people to accomplish. The Assistant Foreman focuses on assigning tasks for, and overseeing, the outdoor work program, and both the Foreman and Assistant Foreman deal with maintenance issues that require special skills or are dangerous, thus making those tasks unsuited for Students to complete. We run a commercial kitchen, and as such there are many tasks that need to be completed on a daily basis (i.e. dishes)
2. Prevent mischief and boredom. A person who doesn't have some particular activity to occupy himself will be tempted to occupy himself with sin or mischief. When we are busy, we tend to get ourselves in less trouble.
3. To learn to be a mature adult. A big part of being an adult is doing what needs doing, when it needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not. This applies to maintaining our lives and our surroundings. The Ranch is home to the students, as well as the staff and interns. It is important to maintain your home.
4. To develop a good work ethic. The work program teaches valuable job skills, but more importantly it teaches students how to work hard without complaining and to take pride in their work. You may be able to get a job without a good work ethic, but if you don't have one, it makes it difficult to keep that job.
5. To reveal other issues. Students come to the Ranch to work on a variety of problems, but many of the areas they end up growing in they don't discover are even a problem until they get to the Ranch. For example, a student might come to the Ranch to work on getting a high school diploma, but discover that the problems they were having in school were rooted in problems with authority.

The Work Program is broken up into 2 sections.

1. Outdoor Work Program: Maintains the 86-acre property. Includes maintaining vehicles, mowing, raking and weed-whacking lawns, chopping firewood, construction projects, irrigation, and any other maintenance projects that develop.
2. Indoor Work Program: Is responsible for preparing and cleaning up meals, cleaning and maintaining the lodge building (includes kitchen, living room, restrooms, and offices), organizing and sorting food, mopping floors, raking, sweeping, dusting and any other chores that are required to maintain the lodge.

The work program is segregated by gender. If the girls are on indoor, the guys are on outdoor, and visa versa. During the summer months, the guys and girls switch the work program they do weekly. During the school year, guys are on indoor one week a month and on outdoor for the rest of the month, and the girls are on outdoor for one week a month and are on indoor for the rest of the month.