Recently, both our Jr. High and High School groups in the Student Ministry took our annual fall retreats to Camp Allendale. Typically, we gather some type of series that we can teach the students that will help them have an idea to stick with them to further growth in Christ. Our main goal in our get-aways were to “get away” from all the media and busyness of life to spend time with God and believers. While this is good, we moved our purpose this year beyond just getting away.
Getting away is essential for students these days. It’s why we see some many powerful things happen when they take a week, weekend, or trip and leave their phone, iPod, computers and TVs behind. When we can disconnect from the world, we are better able to connect with the Creator. And he spoke to them.
Our theme this year was clarity. But it was much more than a theme.
It is an identity.
It’s our goal as leaders to these students. We strive to provide clarity into God’s Word for them, and to allow God to provide clarity for their lives. Ultimately, it is God who proves clarity. But he has made so much clear to us through his Scripture. Over these retreats we talked about clarity and how to make this idea present in our lives.
Clarity is easily lost when we aren’t connected to God.
But we also discovered clarity to be the essence of what we are and strive to do already. And it’s under this discovery that we’ve decided to mold the identity of our Sunday evening Student gatherings behind the theme of clarity. We want to provide clarity to God’s Word to students. And we want to allow God to provide clarity to each student’s life while they join us.
I’m excited about how this new identity will travel. How it can make what we do, more clear. How it can help students understand why we gather, and to invite others to take a part in it.
God wants to provide clarity in your life.
Proverbs 3:6, “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Psalm 37:23, “The LORD makes firm the steps of those who delight in Him.”
Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ “
Will you open his Word to find clarity?
