Urban Ministry Retreat 2021

This year Jordan and Kyle recognized that some of their athletes were ready to go deeper in their relationships with Jesus, so they invited a small group on a summer retreat. Six athletes received personal invitations, got their permission slips signed, and boarded a van for Lindstrom, Minnesota, to the family cabin of Tim Elrod, FCA Multi-Area Director.

As the retreat grew closer, the guys were open in their enthusiasm. “They were excited to have an opportunity to get out of the city and have a weekend with their buddies. They just want to be kids and not have to worry about some of the things they have to worry about in normal life,” Jordan said. As they drove out of the city, the energy level of the guys grew and grew. Jordan continued, “They were screaming out the window and all pumped up. It was fun to see that.”

The Firsts

And then came all the firsts for this group of guys from Minneapolis: first time on a lake, first time in a boat, first time tubing, first time going on a hike, first time seeing a waterfall, first time catching a fish . . . As expected, there was some trepidation in trying new things. When they came to a waterfall on their hike, some of them readily walked behind it, but others weren’t so sure. Because Jordan and Kyle had prepared them for being out of their comfort zones, they were willing to take a risk and walk behind the waterfall, even if they were nervous.

At least half the group couldn’t swim and relied heavily on lifejackets that they sometimes doubted they could trust. It was a great opportunity to talk about how just as they needed to trust the lifejacket to keep them from drowning, they need to trust God to walk with them through life. While the new things stretched them, they had a blast. They all woke up early the last morning leaving Jordan wondering what was going on, but they wanted to cram every moment of fun possible into their last morning on the lake.

Take-Aways

While Jordan, Kyle, and the guys had a great time bonding with each other, they also had amazing opportunities to press into their relationships with God. Kyle said, “It was really structured around connecting with God in three different ways: worship, prayer, and scripture.” On the first night, Jordan talked about worship. They talked about a variety of ways to worship and listened to different styles of worship songs and reflected on them. The next day, Tim talked about prayer and having a posture of prayer. Finally, Kyle shared about scripture. He gave the guys a tool called SOAP where they physically write out the Scripture, list their Observations, consider an Application, and finally Pray God’s Word back to Him. 

Each of the guys wanted to apply something from the weekend to their lives after the retreat:

• Kahlil - "I would like to use SOAP when I get back, and worship because the music stands out for me."
• Josh - "I'm happy to finally improve on how to pray and I hope that will help me be able to say a prayer in a group with confidence."
• Jamario - "Worship - I'm more comfortable listening to worship music."
• Anthony - "The prayers because I'm getting used to praying now and because I did not know how to pray."
• Deshaun - "A way I can connect with God is worship music because I like the music."
• Lamarcus - "Praying"