282. First Adult Retreat
Our very first adult retreat is happening on 9/9-11 (Fri-Sun) and the registration starts this week. The theme of the retreat is “Helper” and the guest speaker is Pastor Young Su McCann, from Journey Christian Fellowship in California. I first met him at House Church conference and not only he is a great speaker but a great person to be around. I am excited to hear from him and for the opportunity for our members to fellowship with him at the retreat.
The purpose of the retreat is to unite our members under one vision and to strengthen them through the Word. Through the retreat, we want to “retreat” from our daily lives, spend time with each other in a refreshing setting, and become strengthened through the word God is giving to our congregation. We don’t become united just by talking about the vision. It takes time interacting with one another, through conversations and play because church is people. People inspire people. I hope this retreat will provide relaxation and strength, for us to move toward God’s vision for our church together in greater unity.
What we want to see happening through the retreat is “Inter-house church” interactions. As we are house-church centric, fellowship with other house church members are somewhat limited, unless you serve in team ministries or take Life Bible studies.
Another thing we would like to see happening is “intergenerational” interactions. We are a pretty diverse congregation in terms of age. Many researchers say what positively impacts the faith of all church members is intergenerational fellowship. Older members can provide wisdom and experience, and younger members can provide energy and curiosity. Great learning happens for both as they interact with each other more deeply.
As this will be our first adult retreat, this will feel like a test-run for our retreat planning team. But many of them have ample experience with planning retreats, so we are in good hands. As you sign up, please take time to pray for God to use this retreat and the guest speaker to unite us and strengthen us.
In terms of logistics, we will meet at Crieff Hills on Friday evening, and coming back on Sunday morning for Sunday service. I will be driving Pastor Young Su to the retreat, and back to the airport.
