BY KAYLA FIELDS
MINISTRY RESIDENT
What happens when you bring 97 middle school students together to build cardboard boats and learn about being unwavered in their faith? One incredible weekend of worship and fun! RADIUS middle school students from all six of our locations visited Camp Long in Aiken, SC for our first annual Middle School Fall Retreat. In the midst of all the fun playing dodgeball, competing in a scavenger hunt, and building boats for a cardboard regatta, our students looked at the story of Elijah and faced the question: Will I choose God or the world? Will I be unwavered in my faith? Students were able to talk about what that looks like for them in small groups, with some deciding for the first time to put their faith in the unwavering God!
From moments in worship and chapel messages, to diving deeper into conversation with small groups, students began processing real faith questions and being vulnerable in ways they never have on a typical Sunday night gathering. It’s incredible how one weekend retreat can parallel a semester’s worth of weekly Student gatherings and conversations. Our prayer is that the conversations and friendships fostered from fall retreat would not just stay at Camp Long, but would overflow into the daily lives of our students!
