Fall Retreat is an annual weekend where our Ignite College ministry travels to a different city to have fun, grow new and old friendships, and most importantly to give every student repeated opportunities to see, hear, and respond to the Gospel. Due to the pandemic our ministry missed out on Fall Retreat last year and so this year’s retreat was a big deal! As over 120 students packed into vehicles headed north to Sarasota, our teams’ prayer was that students would find rest, be challenged, and grow in their intimacy with God. The Lord was faithful to answer these prayers in a multitude of ways.
On the first night of the retreat, Adam Alexander from our Gateway campus, opened by reading from the old hymn, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.
“I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.”
He went on to share that night and the rest of the weekend that although following Jesus may cost you a lot of things, (hardships, pain, suffering and maybe even your life) that following Jesus is the greatest thing you can do. Teaching from Revelation 3, Adam reminded the students that we are weak, needy, and sinful but we can have hope in the saving work of Christ. It was amazing to witness the hunger for God’s presence and promises as students responded daily through worship and small group time. Some students experienced God’s transforming power for the very first time and their lives are changed forever because of it! At the end of the weekend nine students stepped out in faith to declare that they want to follow Jesus with their whole lives through the waters of baptism! Please continue to pray with us for these students and for Ignite as we continue to live as missional ambassadors on the campus of FGCU.
“Fall retreat was an amazing trip in which I learned more about the Lord and grew closer to others in my community. This weekend reminded me of my need for the Lord in my brokenness and reignited my amazement of the power of the gospel in my own life.”
“This year’s retreat convicted me of my lack of childlike faith in this season. It thankfully reminded me of who I am apart from Christ, and it isn’t pretty. So, in all, God showed me (again) that apart from him I have no good thing, nor can I do any good thing, which thus has led me to repent for more child-like humility.”
“This retreat was a time of healing, fellowship, and a time to praise what the Lord has done for us. You could really see God doing a work through the people in this ministry this past weekend. For me, it was a time for me to put all my trust in the Lord, and to follow him, no turning back, no turning back. ”
