Summer Youth Retreat 2021

This past June 22nd through the 25th, the high school youth group went on a retreat to a lake house down in Jaffrey, NH. We had a blast swimming, paddling, and playing king-of-the-dock. Though it wasn’t our usual Ocean City Youth Retreat, everyone agreed that this was a huge success! We also were able to hike Mt. Monadnock which we found out is the second most-hiked mountain in the world! This makes sense given how amazing the views were.

The following week, the middle school youth group went on their retreat to Singing Hills Christian Camp in Plainfield, NH. While it rained almost the entire time we were there, the kids were such troopers and had a blast swimming and playing volleyball in the rain. Thankfully, we were able to have a campfire and toast some s'mores the first night, and for night two, we had a double feature movie night!

Our theme this year for the youth retreat was “Treasuring God.” Chris Audino, Mike O’Leary, and Robert Moore led the discussions on this topic and tried to focus in on identifying how and why Treasuring God is what we were made for. We spent a good amount of time talking about the various things we value and treasure instead of God, as well as how Christ’s sacrifice on the cross provides a means for us to re-orient our misdirected hearts. I think Nick Engert, one of our high schoolers, put it best when he said, “If you compare the rewards of heaven with the rewards of this earth, there is no comparison.” Nick gave his testimony at CRC after the retreat, and talked about what made this retreat unique and special for him. If you want to hear more, check it out below.

A huge thank you to the Brown family and Singing Hills for providing us with spaces for our unusual youth retreats this year! It wouldn’t have been possible without your generosity!