Fall Retreat 2011

This year’s fall retreat was amazing! 

Immediately following the Upstate Fall Getaway, we entered into some transition, and the past few weeks have been a true adventure.  But, even though it has been a month since the getaway happened, I thought it was certainly worth writing about it. 

The October weather was rainy and cold but it did not dampen the spiritual atmosphere at Long Point Retreat Center.  Almost 250 students gathered from all over NY including 76 from Cornell.  Each year the retreat has grown and our movement has continued to bring more and more students for which we praise God!  The fall retreat is an epic end mark to the first phase of our ministry year.   We spent time hanging out, praising God, listening to fantastic preaching and fellowshipping around some grade-A camp cuisine.  (Seriously, the food was good!  And the volunteers who provided it truly came thru to bless us with plenty of nourishment!)

Our Speaker was pastor Drew Hyun.  Drew attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and he currently resides in New York City.  He was definitely one of the most energetic speakers we’ve ever had and he brought powerful and meaningful messages from God’s word.  I was looking forward to Drew coming because he gave a talk a few years ago that has really impacted me personally.  I call the main points of Drew’s talk the Gospel Realities and I have them written inside the front cover of my Bible.  They serve to help me meditate on the ways Christ’s work on the cross influence my daily life.   Here they are below.

Because of Christ or In light of the Gospel, or In Christ

I AM

·      Fully Loved

·      Fully Accepted

I HAVE

·      Nothing to Prove

·      Nothing to Lose

·      Nothing to Hide

AND

·      I am Free to make Mistakes

I’ve also written Nothing to Fear, because “do not fear” or “do not be afraid” is the most common exhortation in the Bible.  When Drew presents, he ties that concept in with “nothing to lose”.

            One of Drew’s strengths is his ability to help people process their life, their fears and their idols in light of the gospel.  He helps people to understand the awesome love of God and to recognize the danger and hopelessness of putting your faith in anything but Christ.  

Some of our students eating in the dining hall

The fall retreat really serves to bond our students together and equip them to walk with Christ together on Campus.  We are so grateful for all that God did that weekend!  

This picture cracks me up.  We set up a "study hall" at the retreat and our Cornell Students pack it out!