Summer Youth Retreat 2022

June 25^th to the 30^th saw nearly 80 kids and adults trek all the way down to Ocean City, NJ for our annual youth retreat. Our last trip to OC was in 2019, so there was a lot of excitement about finally getting to go back! It’s about an 8-hour bus ride, and our kids and leaders were troopers going down and coming back. We stayed at the Kull Youth Center which is a part of the historic Ocean City Tabernacle church right in the heart of the city. Our days were filled with teaching time in the morning, lazy afternoons at the beach, evening small group discussions, and nightly treks along the boardwalk – not to mention some truly incredible food from the team of moms who cooked and served food to all 80 of us. I’d be remiss though if I didn’t mention both our dance parties where we learned a number of line dances, how to swing dance, and saw some truly amazing dance moves from Pastor Don. We also were able to bring back our skit night this year and enjoyed the artistic stylings of a sleeping bag dance group, a water spouting group of middle school boys, and a performance of animals’ eating habits among several other creative sketches.

Our teaching time and small group discussions were centered around the question “What is True Friendship?” The Bible indicates that Jesus serves as the perfect example of what it means to be a perfect friend. His sacrificial life and ministry, though, are more than just a model – they are the keys to eternal life itself. As we pondered how Christ’s death and resurrection serve to renew our own lives and free us from the traps of social comparison and judgment that we are so easily caught up in, our teachers showed us how being friends with Christ could lead to change that nothing else has the capacity to accomplish. It was such a gift to hear from the testimonies of several of our kids and leaders who attested to how friendship with Christ had deeply changed their own lives. Many of the kids on the trip hadn’t heard the truth of the Gospel in much detail before, so we were grateful to have a chance to get to discuss that time all together. All in all, it was an amazing trip with abundant opportunities to see God working in the hearts of everyone involved. We’re looking forward to going back next year!

To hear more about the trip, click below!

You can see photos from the trip below!