Camp Lebanon is so thankful for the youth leaders and their students who joined us for our 4th annual Fall Fire high school youth group retreat! 9 youth groups (plus a group of LIT students from summer camp this year) came up to dig into God’s Word together, participate in challenges, and enjoy one of the last warm weekends of 2019.
Over the course of the weekend, we had 4 chapel sessions with our speaker, Jim Johnson. Jim started the weekend by setting up 3 chairs on stage and explained that they stood for those who are searching, those who are struggling, and those who are striving. Throughout the weekend, Jim talked through the story of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in the Bible and helped students to identify where they are in their faith journey. In his final message, Jim gave students a take-away from each of the characters in the story. From Martha, we learn to serve Jesus. From Mary, we learn that God wants us to worship Jesus. And from Lazarus, we learn to live Jesus! We are called to receive the gift of grace and salvation from God, and to go out and put it into action. Jim also encouraged campers to take on the “First 20 Challenge,” which was a challenge to give Jesus the first 20 minutes of their day. He gave them a solid place to start by suggesting they read through Luke, Acts, James, and Proverbs. Then he gave them a prayer outline called “ACTS,” which stands for A – Adore, C – Confess, T – Thanks, and S – Surrender. With these tools, he equipped students to dive deep into their relationship with Jesus!
Throughout the weekend, after chapels and youth group discussion times, Camp staff organized the Raging Fire Challenges! Each year, youth groups get to compete in challenges for points, with a winner at the end of the weekend! Some of the challenges included a Can-Can Relay (rolling a bottle of pop back and forth on the tennis courts and having one of the students drink it), a spaghetti noodle and marshmallow tower contest, and an All-Camp Scavenger Hunt!
Aside from some epic challenges, students also got to enjoy just being at Camp. The Saturday of the retreat was particular beautiful, warm, and sunny. The zipline was busy, as was Laser Tag and, brand new this year, the Craft Room! Not to mention the Wiffleball Stadium and the Hub activities like 9-square, 4-square and Octoball. With a fire always going on the Hub, it was a pretty great place to hang out.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2019 Fall FIRE retreat! It was so exciting to see so many students connecting with each other, with their leaders, and with God. See you next year!
See more photos on our Facebook Page!
