Youth search for God at Camp Asbury
One of my greatest joys as an associate pastor at Church of the Saviour is watching our youth grow in faith. Our Junior United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF) Retreat last fall provided just such an opportunity, as 33 youth, grades 5 through 8, gathered for a weekend at Camp Asbury in Hiram, Ohio.
Our retreat theme was "Ditch the World for the Weekend - Find God for Life!" Our scriptural focus was Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart," and our theme song was "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord."
Have you ever gone an entire weekend without a cell phone, or a walkman, or even a wristwatch? Part of "ditching the world" is forgetting about the constraints of time. We allowed no clocks at the retreat. Searching for God is too important to be bound by artificial limits of time and space.
Over the course of the weekend, we concentrated on four spiritual disciplines that bring us closer to God. We discussed various ways of reading and understanding the Bible. We discussed prayer and solitude - talking and listening to God. Finally, we discussed the components and importance of worship. But the retreat was not just about discussion.
We set aside time to study scripture, to pray, and to get away by ourselves - just me and God. Our youth planned and conducted the entire Sunday morning worship service without adult involvement/ interference, and it was truly awesome. Of course, we also had plenty of time for outdoor fellowship and fun, but even this was designed to deepen our knowledge of ourselves, each other, and our creator.
At our retreat 11 adult leaders (myself included) witnessed that growth and, as a result, we too grew in the faith and knowledge of Christ. Praise be to God.
Rev. Mark Steiger