What a great weekend! We had a total of 36 students (29 from CCC, 7 from a church in Columbus). The first thing they heard from the stage (after a song) was me standing up and saying “Welcome to the retreat. This weekend we’re going to teach you guys how to be UnChristian”. All the kids just kind of looked at me with blank stares. Not what they expected a youth minister to say. If you have no idea what I’m talking about check out the UnChristian web site. We took these young men and women on a journey of what Christ really had in mind when he established the Church and Christianity. I pray that they’ll really take to heart what we talked about and apply it to their lives. That being said here are a few highlights from the weekend:
1) John Martin, Nathan McKnight, Zach Boswell and Nathan Martin did an incredible job of leading us in worship. Along with playing for the main sessions they put together an all worship service Saturday night (started at 10 PM) that was amazing. I challenged the teenagers to just show up, leave all their baggage at the door, and just worship the God that created them. And they did. Thank you band. We’ll see you at the next retreat (I hope!).
2) Lawrence Moore put together our fun activities. He did a great job of just getting the kids to loosen up and get to know each other. He did a scavenger hunt Saturday night that took a lot of planning and preparation and the kids really liked it. Good job my man!
3) Cathy Hooker came through again in the kitchen. Truth be told, I only do these retreat so I can get eat her cooking the entire weekend. If anyone came away from this weekend hungry it’s their own fault.
4) Small group leaders. Holy Cow! I can’t imagine doing this stuff without you. I always tell students that the leaders enjoy this stuff more then the students. And we do. Watching you guys play games with the kids, eat with them and lead them closer to God is almost too much for me to handle. I know one leader just sat and talked with a student for an hour or so after our campfire. I think as adults we don’t realize how much of an impact we can make on a young person’s life by just sitting and listening. This leader gets that and did it. WHAT WE DO WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU. I love you all so much.
6) BJ Parker took some of the load off of me this weekend. He might think what he did wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was. He helped set up the topics every night by leading the students in activities. He did a great job!
7) Becky Martin. Enough said. If you know Becky you know what I mean. If you don’t know Becky you’re missing out. She basically does all the work and I just walk around pissing people off. But we make a good team. I could go on, but I don’t have the time or space.
8) My wife. The main session wouldn’t have happened without her. She takes all the jumbled mess in my head and somehow makes it look like a well oiled machine. I don’t know how or why she puts up with me but I thank God she does.
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4 comments:
I am glad to hear that you guys had a great time on the retreat. Sounds like a great experience. I hope to go next year and join you guys in it. I am glad that you all had fun and grew closer to god, as that is the purpose of the event. Keep up the great work Kelley, and the rest of the amazing people the he mentioned. You guys help me a lot to grow closer to god, no matter the occasion. I cant wait to get back up on my feet completely so I can return Sunday nights.
The retreat was one of the highlights of my year! I felt like I was a student there instead of a leader...that's how much I got out of it. Can't wait for CYI.
Looks like you might be waiting a while Andrew, I don't think we do a CYI, i know we do a CIY though. Lol Just picking on you
Well played Simon, well played.
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