Escape 2008

As a young adult interested in working with children and teenagers, I often receive the question,"What age-group of youth do you enjoy working with?"

More often than not, I answer that "although I love working with all ages (K-18, that is), I especially love middle-schoolers because they're not afraid to be energized, enthusiastic, and ask questions about life, God, and 'how all the pieces fit together'."

Because of this, I often find myself sitting in on the middle school services (Impact), hanging out with the middle school students, and attending middle-school break-out sessions within youth conference trips.

And although I love the maturity of high-schoolers, I rarely find myself with an opportunity to bond with them.

Similarly to the Kids' Camp and Stretch conferences that our church hosted this summer, CCV (for its first time ever) hosted a high-school "getaway" conference from July 21st-July 23rd at Black Rock Retreat Camp in Quarryville, PA. When I heard about the opportunity to travel alongside 46 of our high school students, I quickly became excited at the possibility of knowing this age-group closer.

The conference was a great success. Our guest speaker, Jeffery Dean, challenged the students to "share the latest with God" by finding ways to live out God's truth in scripture targeting teenage issues including body image, self-esteem, dating, sexual relationships, honesty, humility, sacrifice, and much more. It was neat to meet with students to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and questions as they felt God pouring insights on their hearts. One of my favorite times to walk around and observe the students involved "quiet time," a time of prayer and scripture study.

Outside of session time and small groups, it was encouraging to see teenagers bonding together; whether at meals times, during free times, or after hours in the room; some of the greatest memories of the trip rest in the hours of watching teens experience life together.

Upon asking the students what improvements could be made for next year, nearly every student answered, "It's not long enough!"

It makes me wonder though-do we always have to Escape just to experience moments like these where we feel God moving and working?

I sure hope not.

I pray that one day, the students will feel just as comfortable, excited, and enthusiastic to hear and experience God at their own youth group service as they did at Escape 2008. It's encouraging to see how closely teens are searching God when guided in the chances, the opportunities, and the time to pursue him.

Check out our latest video from our high school retreat, Escape 2008!