This past weekend our College students gathered in houses on the lake to learn what it should look like to live out Acts 2:42 daily with one another. There was laughter, there were tears, and there was a whole lot of feeling near to the presence of the Lord. We had honest conversations on how our relationship with ourselves, the Lord and others are all interconnected and how we must know that the state of our  heart affects all three. It is always such a joy to take specific time to reflect and be the body together. Below is some reflections from students who came away with us on Retreat:

“As a freshman, my first student trip with First Baptist at spring retreat was an amazing opportunity to grow deeper In my relationship with God, myself, and my brothers in Christ. All the way learning how to be a better Follower of Gods word daily through my relationships and friendships. So many of my great surface level friendships where deepened and strengthened in both purposeful devotional time and awesome competitive board games and pool! Most importantly, the distractions of school and life disappeared as I focused solely on the well being of relationship with myself, friends and God!“

–Bryson, Freshman

“The atmosphere is changing now, for the spirit of the Lord is here. The evidence is all around that the spirit of the Lord is here.”

Spring retreat. Oh, the overwhelming evidence that the spirit of the Lord was all around us! Sitting in a circle listing the attributes of God and all the truths of God that we’ve clung to, God was with us. God was everywhere we looked and in every word that was said. 2 Corinthians 6 says that we are seen as “having nothing, yet possessing everything.” What a truth that is and a truth we cling to! As brothers and sisters in Christ, we possess everything — and his name is Jesus. And truly living in the light of our savior means allowing that truth and the love of Jesus’ to spill over into every part of our lives, including how we live with others. I pray that we all came back from a spirit-filled weekend with a prayer in our hearts to live each day more like Jesus, and that we remember forever that the spirit of the Lord is here, inside us — always.

–Meg, Sophomore

“Getting to spend a weekend surrounded by girls who love the Lord was such a blessing. I almost didn’t go on the retreat, but I decided last minute to commit and go and by the end, I understood the value of plugging into community like this. There were a lot of highlights from the weekend, from playing just dance to the toast bar for dinner, but the real highlight for me was the last night where we all sat around and talked about what we loved about God. Seeing the love each girl had for God and her relationship with Him was so special. Everyone had such an individual relationship with their Creator, but it was clear that the same God was behind it all. This weekend was such a nice reminder was how good God is and how much there is to love about Him. He has given us so much that even if He never gave us anything else, we would still have more than we deserve, and still somehow we’ve only gotten a taste of all the blessings He has to pour out on us. How crazy is it that we try to push Him away? That we try to hide ourselves from Him as if He doesn’t already see us? Living with each other is great, but you cannot fully see others until you have seen Him. Stepping away this weekend gave me the perspective I needed to fall back in love with Him again, because there is just so much to love.”

–Ashton, Freshman

“Spring retreat was such a beautiful example of living together the way the early church did. Each of the guys was willing to open his heart, and the Lord blessed that. It is so freeing to discuss temptation and learn that the struggles I am having are no different than my brothers in Christ and that we can be there for each other in those. I’m still working through it, but finding how the Lord gives us opportunity to share his truth with those around us rather than personal advice is eye-opening, because so often I am eager to share some piece of advice that I think is so good but really is worthless for what that person needs. That advice reflects a pride in my heart that I have to lessen before the Lord can truly be the King of my Life. Spring retreat was a Jesus filled weekend that drew us closer to each other and to God. “

-Andy, Junior