Thirty years ago, American Christian Tours was incorporated in the state of California by Grant and Nancy Jonsson, who became its president and vice-president. At that time they were the sole employees. The first offices were in a small, one room office that was part of a mini-storage warehouse. The second office was in a new retail center. Both were in Palm Springs, California. In 1987, ACTS moved to Rancho, California and had approximately 1200 square feet of commercial office space. In 1988, the company moved to Rice Lake, Wisconsin, planning and building a new 8000 square foot building. The corporate office has been located in Rice Lake since that time.
The first year expectations were to take approximately 200 students to Washington, D.C. and an equal number to the California State Capital. Instead ACTS finished the year having taken almost 600 students to Washington, D.C. and about 700 to the state capital. God has continued to bless ACTS with continual growth on an annual basis. As we celebrate thirty years of His grace, we are honored to have served more than one hundred thousand people on what we believe are life-changing Education Programs. While methods and technology have changed over the past thirty years, our original mission statement penned in 1984 continues to be foundational.
‘ACTS believes its work should be a delight to our Lord. Our company and our employees should show a good example of Christianity in action. Our tours should be different from those of secular companies in content and in the spirit of fellowship and love our staff engenders. Those on our tours, and those who simply see our tours, should come away with a feeling that what we are all about as Christians is something good and something they should themselves want to know more about.’
As we celebrate the past, we look forward with excitement to what lies ahead. With Christ at the center, our hope is to continue to apply our hearts to the mission of impacting lives, young and old, with the message of Providential His-story – for such a time as this.
Only One Life 
Yes, God calls us to use the opportunities He provides to testify to His character and desire of His creation. History is “His-story” of what He has done throughout the generations, specifically in America. That’s our desire, to teach young and old alike that
God can use them to also make a difference in the world, just as He has done with others throughout history at the right time, right place, RIGHT person.