As I stated in my last blog entry, I wanted to take some time and share just a bit about this weekend's exciting Winter Retreat held in Carlisle, Pennsylvania! This has been my second retreat as the Youth Pastor at Living Hope Worship Center and it's always a highlight for many of our students each year.
The theme for the retreat this year dealt with how we feel at Winter Retreat; some responses were that individuals felt loved, accepted, close to God, or even that they felt free. I felt that the theme was well thought out and even better executed through the times of worship, the workshops offered to the students and leaders, and also in the sessions with the speaker (Pastor Vince Donnachie, Reading City Church http://www.readingcitychurch.com/).
(Picture from the back of the second service)
The weather was not the greatest while we were there and we saw substantial snowfall while we were there at the campground (approximately seven to nine inches fell Saturday morning). Thank God the snowfall did not affect our travels home on Sunday, but as you can see in the pictures below, it provided beautiful views of the Pennsylvania countryside!
Along with the dynamic services and the incredible times of worship, a Winter Retreat of this magnitude would not be complete without massive sports competitions! Out of the three competitions that were offered, Horizon students chose to participate in the volleyball and dodgeball competitions. As hard as we tried, we did not do well in volleyball, however, our dodgeball team did surprising well for the first time in the history of Horizon Youth! Out of the sixteen teams that participated in the 2014 Winter Retreat Dodgeball Tournament, we placed second!!
If you read my last blog post, you know that I personally feel that I received just as much as I feel that our students did from the Lord throughout the entire weekend. It was an encouraging time, being able to seek after the Lord and receive from Him. The main emphasis of the weekend went right along with the theme and we talked heavily about worship and how it applies to our lives. Many of us struggle with the concept of worship and it was definitely a much needed reminder to all about how important it is not to just worship our God in song, but to also worship Him with the way that we live each and every day. Let our lives point above to the God that we love and serve.
Overall, the weekend was definitely one of my top highlights so far as a Youth Pastor here at Living Hope Worship Center. I am so thankful for the opportunity to invest in not only these specific students, but in all of the students who choose to make Horizon their personal youth group. It was a long and exhausting weekend for sure, but I am so glad to be able to serve in this capacity. God is good! :)
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Have any great Winter Retreat stories? Feel free to comment below!
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