High School Youth Retreat 2022
NOTE: The following was written by Matt before the youth retreat took place. Since then, the retreat happened, with 26 youth attending along with 12 leader/volunteers. It was a great time of learning, togetherness and fun, and included a baptism in the ocean on Monday morning of one of our youth who decided at the retreat to take that next step! Please pray for all our youth as they continue to seek God and that they will make Him first in their lives. God is good!
Preparation for one of the biggest weekends in youth ministry is underway! High school retreat planning makes for a busy week, but one that I have looked forward to for months. The anticipation of this weekend extends past the prospect of playing games, making memories, and eating great food. More than any of this, is the anticipation of seeing how the Spirit will move through the students. The theme for this weekend is Seek First.
It is easy for other “things” to become a priority in our lives. This can be especially true for students as they prepare for college, a first job, summer sports, or even just navigating the day to day of high school. While all of these are good, none of them should take the highest priority. The youth staff’s hope and prayer for this weekend is that all students will leave seeking God first. This call is not just to the students. As we read through Matthew 6:33, the call is for everyone to seek first the Kingdom of God. We want to see the students; leaders and the church body seek God first in everything that we do. Our teachings and activities throughout the weekend weave this principle in, in the hope that they will leave the retreat seeking God first. As the youth staff and students go on this retreat together and seek the Kingdom, my call to our church family is to also be seeking God first in your life. Some of the ways that we are encouraging the students to do that this weekend is to seek God first in your rising and your setting. That encouragement extends to you as well. One pastor I admire once said to put God first even before coffee in the morning. That might sound insane to some, especially living in the PNW; however, can you imagine what our lives would look like if we went to those measures to ensure Christ is first in our lives?
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matt Arnett
EBC Youth Ministry Intern