Huge Winter Retreat!

We’ve been off to a great start this semester already! We’re three weeks into school, though it feels more like two because of the winter storm that shut our campuses down for most of the week. Before all that, though, we had an amazing Winter Retreat that I want to tell y’all about!

Winter Retreat is one of my favorite events of the whole year. It’s three whole days with a bunch of students who are fired up about Jesus getting together to worship, learn about Him, and have lots of fun. This year was our biggest retreat yet, with over 800 people attending, which is pretty mind-blowing to me and the rest of our pastors. We’re literally using almost every single bed at the camp where we host it. We might have to start brainstorming some new options for next year!

Retreats are always special as a leader because, if you’ve ever been to something like this, you know how people get into a different mindset. Walls come down, things come out, and conversations that you’ve been hoping would happen all year finally happen. Breakthroughs abound, and the cohesion that happens in a ministry afterward is just amazing. I feel like I was able to experience all of those things this year in so many ways.

I’ve had a student I’ve been meeting with all year who, whenever we meet and I ask about what he’s going through or if he ever needs help, always replies with something like, “Yeah, all this stuff went down,” or “This big decision came up, but it’s okay I’ve got it under control. I’ve got a plan, so don’t worry about it.” Over and over, his friends and I have been trying to get him to ask for help instead of dealing with everything on his own. Finally, at this retreat, the walls came down. He got burned out from taking care of everyone around him without taking a moment to get help himself. That led to a great conversation around 1 a.m.—because, of course, it had to happen at 1 a.m. The weeks following have been so much more encouraging, especially in his willingness to bring things up before he’s got it all figured out.

I was able to have several other conversations like that over the weekend. I saw a Core group be so thoughtful and caring when one member found out someone in their family was in the hospital. A bunch of 20-year-old guys who wanted nothing more than to go play games with their friends dropped everything for hours just to sit and be with one of their friends.

I saw people look out for those sitting on their own. I saw people who had never engaged much in worship jump up and down until their legs were about to give out.

It was an amazing time, not least of which was because of how incredible the sessions were. Marty Solomon from the BEMA podcast was our speaker for the weekend, and if you haven’t checked it out, you’ve got to, it’s amazing. His content this weekend was just as incredible. We covered the whole book of Genesis, and the way he brought it to life was so encouraging. I’ve heard so many stories from students about the impact it’s had on them. I was particularly encouraged when Marty said that we have something very special here and that he’d want to come back and be with us again.

It’s times like this that I’m just floored that I get to be part of something so special.

I wanted to thank you again for supporting the ministry I get to do with these students! Darby and I are going to try to raise around another $500 a month for this next year, so it would mean the world to us if, as you’re considering what you want your giving to look like in the new year, you’d pray about being part of that.