I have taken groups to FaHoLo camp for the past seven winters. I have had more great conversations there with students than any other place besides Ward Church. As a retreat center, it’s a place with above-average facilities, reasonable prices, a great staff, and an indoor pool and hot tub - all which make the place awesome.
Two things really help to define how a retreat will go. The first is facilities, and like I said, FaHoLo is great. The next is the speaker. This retreat, we hit it out of the park with the speaker. We had Jason Raitz and he was amazing. Jason had to speak 8 times; this is because we do both our middle school and our high school retreats on the same weekend, with the same speaker (just at different times). Jason was able to communicate in such a way that all students, from high school seniors to sixth graders, were challenged to find their identity in Christ. He was fun, biblical and someone that helped set our small groups up for success.
One of the greatest things that can happen in student ministries is when the students get up and thank their leaders. On Saturday night at winter retreat, we always have a time for our seniors to share advice. The line that continued to be shared throughout the night was that our volunteers are amazing. It has been a dream and a goal of mine that our students would see their small group leaders as the key people in the spiritual development at Ward. It is impossible for me to have a close relationship with every student. But with great leaders, it happens that the student has someone in their life that loves Jesus and loves them. Saturday night was a testimony that that was happening, and I am so thankful for the leaders we have in Epic.
Lastly, I love retreats for the conversations. I had a number of great conversations with students this weekend. Retreats are times where our students connect with God, whether it is through the music (3union did a great leading worship), the talks from Jason, or their small groups. In those moments, their hearts are open and we can share with them at a time when they are open to God doing something in their lives. I love those moments!
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