By Kate McCartney
Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” This verse framed this year’s Fall Retreat in Deerfield Beach. The weekend focused on worship, instruction, fellowship, and refreshment. As a result, the students of Ignite were able to grow closer in their intimacy with God and with each other. Pastor Joel Vint from Summit’s Gateway campus delivered four impactful sermons all encompassing the theme of the Lord’s heart for His children.
On the first night we walked through Matthew 8:5-13; the passage showed us that we can have faith that amazes Jesus himself. We learned that, for the believer, a gap between our high expectations and the messy realities of life can cause us to grow apathetic toward God. Therefore, we need to live by faith, resting daily in the comforts of our relationship with Him. Throughout the weekend, we read through the Psalms and talked about how God desires for us to prayerfully bring our honest hurts, reactions, doubts, questions, and joys to Him. We were challenged to write the most authentic prayer we had ever prayed to God, our very own Psalm. We ended with Ephesians 5:8-14, learning practicals of walking as children of the light, solitude, community, and mission.
Then, what started off as a cold, rainy Sunday morning miraculously turned into a beautiful, sunny day, perfectly timed, as we joyously celebrated the culmination of death to life for seven students through water baptism!
All in all, Fall Retreat 2023 reminded us of the profound privilege we have: that the God of the universe steadfastly loves us, extends inconceivable grace and mercy, and desires a unique, personal relationship with each of us. In forming new relationships and strengthening existing ones, we were able to experience the delightful gift of community. It is through Jesus and only Jesus that true comfort, reconciliation, joy, and freedom can be found. Now, out of love for others, we are given an urgent responsibility to share the Good News of the life change we are so fortunate to have experienced.
“Fall Retreat was such a blessing in my faith walk. I felt immensely grateful for the opportunity to grow in community with other believers and to clearly witness the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of our generation.”
“Over the past few months, God has been putting it on my heart to be baptized and, this past weekend, I did it! I am so thankful for the community and the friendships the Lord has blessed me with while on this beautiful journey.”
“Fall Retreat was an extremely powerful time of growth and community for me. Being assigned a room with some guys I did not know very well allowed me to bond and build new relationships. The sessions caused us to dive deeper and reflect on the things we learned and how we can grow. I cannot wait for next year and what the Lord has in store for us!”
