C&C spent January 14-16th at a cabin for our annual retreat. We always look forward to this time to get away, bond, laugh, learn, and hopefully get a little more rest (which doesn’t always happen). This year we invited our previous boss from our time at the RIC, Kevin Mayer, to come share with us. We had spent the fall studying the book of Eccelesiastes and through that we were constantly reminded that we cannot put our hope in the things “under the sun.” Kevin has done so much research on heaven, end times, etc. so we knew he would be the perfect person to come share with us. Let’s hear from some of the lovely people who joined us for the retreat…
I think my favorite part of our retreat with college and career were the sessions. We talked about what we imagine heaven will be like, and how no matter what we come up with, it will be way better! It gave me a new perspective, and a greater excitement to get there someday. —Grace Beachy
I learned that heaven is something to look forward to and not be scared of! Also that we are here to tell people about Jesus and not just live our normal lives. Time is short and we truly don’t know how long we have on this earth but we need to help make a footprint for Jesus and not just an imprint that fades away and is never remembered or taken to heart. I have also learned that the WORD is alive and not just another book, that it is our love letter from Jesus.
Honestly the retreat was something that I was not planning on going to but I was praying about it and God kept answering my prayers and making the way for me to go when I definitely thought it was not In the cards. —Cassidy Beachy
It was refreshing to spend an intentional weekend digging into the word with friends, and “studying to show ourselves approved”. This is what the Church needs right now: young people who are learning to see the body of Christ as family, and care for it as such. —Justin Denlinger
I could honestly talk for hours about what I learned and some of my favorite memories from the retreat, but I’ll just stick with one. The topic for the retreat was heaven, and I had no idea how fascinating this study was going to become. This was one of the first times I’ve had a Bible study focused on prophecy along with current events, and it was so cool to see how God works. I had literally been studying the exact same material the speaker, Kevin, had talked about, and to hear him confirm everything was really neat. I chatted with him in between studies, and he knew the same authors and speakers I had been listening to. Hearing his perspective on topics such as prophecy, Revelation, the times of Noah and the flood, the Millennium kingdom, and how all these fit into world events and especially our biblical worldview, was incredible. I walked away from the retreat knowing that no matter how crazy the world is, it is leading up to something amazing, and God is always in control. —Allison Schloneger
College and career retreat was really good! Lots of good food and hanging out. Kevin Mayer was the speaker for the weekend and what he had to say was super good and tied well into the Perspectives class some of us are taking. The thought was simple but something I never really got. God has the same goal all throughout the Bible. God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him and we know that blessing to be Christ. Simply put, the great commission started back then, pointing people to the gospel started then. I never really saw much of the gospel in the Old Testament but it is everywhere! Joseph, Jonah, Esther and Daniel. So many verses talk about how all the nations will know God and the temple was to be a place of prayer for all nations. And there is a lot more! I am not very good at explaining things, Kevin probably did better. Anyways that's some of what I got out of the weekend, encouraging and challenging. —Caleb Troyer
