Retreat or Advance?

Some call it a ‘retreat’. Others prefer to use the term ‘advance’ In reality, it was both!

This past weekend I, along with my wife, my daughter and her husband led a church youth retreat/advance 3 hours into the mountains of Pennsylvania. Our destination landed us at the Montrose Bible Conference in the little town of Montrose itself. The ministry has been there seemingly forever. It has seen some of the great giants of the Christian faith pass through, ever since R.A. Torrey founded it just over a century ago.

Little did I know how many details and how much planning was involved in taking 27 kids on an outing such as this. The health, medication, and food allergy issues alone were nearly a full-time job for my daughter, who thankfully is studying to become a nurse. But I do know now, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the trip was God’s will and was jam-packed with miracles from start to finish.

For example, the compact bus we had contracted when the group was a bit smaller became totally insufficient for the entire crew and their luggage. As a result, our bus company upgraded us to a beautiful, modern 49-passenger bus at no extra charge! God must have wanted certain kids on board and made sure they had a way to get there – and in style no less!

Another miracle was the weather. To drum up interest for the retreat there was the promise of several hours of paint ball. The boys all went berserk when first hearing that was part of the trip. Some of the girls were not so sure. But eventually they one by one came alongside – their fears and doubts notwithstanding. But the gloomy forecast never really interfered. The rain that did come seemed to fall just between activities – including our half-mile walks back and forth for meals! On Saturday, we walked the one half mile to supper in the sun, ate during a downpour, and walked back to blue sky. A coincidence? I think not!

Then there was the miracle of a ‘technology-free’ weekend. Now that may not sound miraculous, but it very much fits my definition when considering the array of electronic gadgetry permanently engrafted to the ears of most teens today. This was not an easy concept or sacrifice for many of them to swallow at first. Several would have rather skipped food and water for 2 days more, but eventually they gave in and sanity won out.As mentioned, the entire weekend was miraculous and could not have gone much better. The food was outstanding, the kids well-behaved, and the schedule flawless. Plus nobody was seriously hurt – with the exceptions of a few expected paintball welts and a rash or two from poison ivy.

But the miracle that mattered most was all about the spiritual impact - hopefully something with lasting and life-altering results. Being out in God’s gorgeous creation with no texting, cell phones, Facebooks, or ipods was absolutely essential. The quiet and lack of external distractions was something many of today’s kids seldom experience. Over the 3 days the kids discovered that they really could survive without cell phones acting as their personal pacemakers.

Yes, the retreat environment was radically different. When we neared home my daughter, upon looking at the rush hour traffic, maze of stores, and frantic people rushing everywhere said, “This here all seems so artificial”. That was exactly why being isolated at Montrose allowed leaders and campers alike to fully focus on our theme of “Looking unto Jesus” from Hebrews 12:1-2. We spent two full days in those two amazing verses alone, and many of the kids there have never seen what an in-depth study of Scripture can reveal.

Much more could be said about the miraculous weekend. There were the new friendships, the teamwork, the bonding, the constant laughter, the live music, and of course the times of prayer and serious spiritual reflection. Then, too, there was the ultimate challenge of fully quieting a group of fully wired kids at lights out! But our lasting prayer is that each will look back on the event with great fondness but more importantly ‘look unto Jesus’ in a new and fresh way!

To do that we devised an acrostic. The word ‘SOAP” was employed as a method and challenge for getting them each to make an ‘appointment’ to see Jesus every day. The S stood for ‘Scripture’. The O stood for ‘observation’. The A stood for ‘application’. And the P was for ‘prayer’. Our priority was to help the kids gain a godly defense against a godless culture saturated with unimaginable temptations and pitfalls. We actually gave a bar of Dial soap out on the bus as a reminder and motivator just before we arrived home. ‘SOAP’ was to become the secret post-retreat weapon and a way to fulfill Psalm 119:9: “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Just as physical soap removes physical dirt, God’s ‘SOAP’ can tackle the sin that can so easily infiltrate, tarnish, and destroy the heart.

Again, it was a weekend of miracles. Perhaps even the miracle of salvation was in the mix. But we pray that, long after the paintball bruises heal and the memories fade, that ‘SOAP’ will continue to do its job. We pray that it will continue to deal with temptation, cleanse from sin and heal young hearts as they look unto Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.”

It was a physical retreat. And more importantly, it was a spiritual advance!

Bill Breckenridge