2023 Men’s Retreat

By: James Williams

Humility.
Strength.
Honor.

Those three traits – each one essential to manhood – were the focus as the men of Grace gathered in Glenrose for the final weekend in April for our annual retreat. The dive into each topic began with a time of teaching, led by Ed Gish (humility), Carey Morgan (strength), and Jeff Joens (honor). For each subject, the teaching was a springboard into small group discussion which went even deeper.

But there was even more to this retreat than teaching. Several men shared powerful testimonies. James Bedwell led a team of counselors for dedicated prayer times focused on deliverance. A variety of worship leaders led us as we praised and thanked Jesus in song. We worshiped together, prayed together, and ate meals together.

There was time for fun, too. We hiked, fished, relaxed, shot at things (archery and skeet shooting), shot at people (paintball), and competed against one another in pickleball, table tennis, and midnight basketball.

Connections
By the end of the event, it became apparent that the Lord had purposed to create some connections between men in our church, for the purpose of building each other up. Throughout the weekend, meaningful connections were made. We made connections during our fun activities, at the table during meals, and especially within the 20 or so small groups that met throughout the weekend and in the weeks after we returned home.

In Luke 22:32, Jesus told Peter that he will betray Him soon, but He didn’t leave it there. He encouraged Peter to be ready to get his act together, and strengthen his brothers. Please pray for the men of Grace, that we will take what we gained from this retreat with us, and we will continue to make each other stronger, because when the men are stronger, the church is stronger.