This past weekend, about 50 campers and numerous staff members gathered at camp for the annual Spring Retreat. The theme for the weekend was Bold and we were challenged to be bold in Christ through three of the biggest decisions of our lives.
Jamie Damm, the speaker for the weekend, focused on three main questions:
- Who or what is your master?
- What is your mission in life?
- Who will I share this life with?
Friday night, Jamie challenged the campers to boldly pick Christ as their master and to be so deeply invested in God that you don’t just know Him, but to become His disciple. Allowing Christ to be your master was just the beginning of becoming bolder in your faith because as you follow your master, your mission in life begins to reflect the mission of who you follow.
Saturday morning, the main focus was Jesus’ mission. Jamie started in John 2:13-22, challenging the campers to figure out how to bring Jesus into every aspect of their lives. He [Jamie] stated, “Jesus’ mission is to make disciples of people and His call is that we do the same.” As we focus on this mission, there are going to be inevitable obstacles that come our way, but if we are serious about bringing people to God, we will find ways to overcome the obstacles.
Jamie used Mark 2:1-12 to illustrate how Jesus overcame hindrances to His mission through and challenged us in three specific ways:
- To remove the obstacles for those seeking Christ
- To be more aware that everyone around us, who do not know Jesus, are dead.
- To be more concerned about those who are the outcast (Mark 1:38-42)
Saturday evening was focused on the question, “Who will I share this life with?” Jamie reminded the young ladies in the room that they are princesses in God’s eyes and the young men princes and when we realize our value in God’s eyes, our view of ourselves changes (Ephesians 1:4-6, 11 and Psalm 139). He challenged us to first pick who our master is, begin our mission in life, and then find a mate. Service was filled with sweet conviction and an abundance of grace as campers and staff evaluated their hearts and pondered these three questions.
Sunday morning was an extended time of worship and then individual time for prayer. The campers and staff spread out around the camp and spent time reflecting on the weekend and what God was teaching them and how to be more Bold in Christ.
Along with being serious and focusing on our faith, there also were plenty of games played and memories made! Friday night games consisted of “Never Have I ever,” “Pot Head,” and “Capture the Flag.”
Saturday afternoon games consisted of camp favorite, “WawaMan.” Saturday night, the secret sausage gravy recipe was stolen from the kitchen and the campers scattered around camp piecing together the puzzle to find the culprit. The FBI were involved, detectives, good cops and bad cops, and lots of confusing clues. By the end of the game, the recipe was found and we were able to enjoy the scrumptious sausage gravy for breakfast Sunday morning. As the retreat came to an end, we were encouraged to live boldly for Christ.
