"Solio Deo Gloria,” which means “Glory to God Alone” in Latin, was the theme of the 2014 Grace Retreat held at Virginia State University in Petersburg, VA from June 25 – 28. There were 60 plus Timothy students, counselors, parents, and pastors attending the Grace Retreat from NCFC this year. My first Grace Retreat was two years ago with a handful of VA Timothy students, and I was tremendously blessed. So though I was physically tired from having attended the Promiseland Retreat just a few days prior, I was looking forward to the Grace Retreat. Additionally, with Pastor Brian unable to attend due to the short-term missions to Ecuador, I felt I needed to be there to take care of the Virginia students and witness whatever the Lord may be doing in their midst.
There were over 450 people in attendance, representing 38 different churches, from as far as North Carolina. That’s an average of about 12 people per church. If you take NCFC and other large attendance churches into consideration, this means many of the churches sent fewer than ten students. The Grace Retreat indeed is a big blessing and spiritually eye-opening event for the students from these small churches. They are not likely to be able to afford nationally renowned speakers and experience worship provided by the “Hillsong quality” worship team.
As expected, the retreat was packed with awesome keynote speakers and seminar leaders, many of whom NCFC has already heard from through the past revivals and retreats. These speakers included Pastor Q, the Senior Pastor of HOPE Church, the organizer of the Great Retreat since 2001, Pastor Carlos Reyes, Pastor Bob Hartley, and Pastor Stephen Chandler. In addition, there were other pastors and missionaries from YWAM in Hawaii, Bethel Church in Redding, CA, and other local churches. One surprise guest speaker was Pastor Esther Chang, who used to attend NCFC in the mid-90’s. She gave the best ‘sex talk’ I have ever heard. She was direct, transparent, and engaging with a great sense of humor, keeping the audience’s attention the entire time. I’d love to invite her to NCFC during our next ‘True Love Waits’ campaign. Thanks to Pastor Esther, I will never be able to eat IKEA Swedish meatballs. Ask a Grace Retreat attendee to find out what I mean.
I am thankful for the many powerful testimonies of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that many of the retreat attendees experienced. I also hear that many of our own Timothy students have encountered God in a new, more intimate way. Indeed God alone deserves all the glory! I too experienced spiritual renewal through the times of powerful corporate worship and challenging messages from the anointed servants of the Lord. However, the greatest message that I walked away with from the retreat was not presented in any of the main sessions or seminars. It was not preached or taught, but demonstrated, and its impact will remain with me for a long time.
It turns out that the Retreat registration fee barely covers the cost of room and board the hosting university charges. So HOPE Church members raise over $20,000 throughout the year to cover the airfare, honorarium, and room and board of the retreat speakers. Though they can reduce the expense by inviting only local speakers and having a fewer number of speakers, they believe in investing in the youth and go all out.
What really blew my mind was the fact that HOPE Church has fewer than ten youth members who attend and benefit from the Grace Retreat. In another words, they are not organizing the Grace Retreat for their selfish gain, to bless their Youth Ministry members. If they were concerned about their youth only, they could take an easier and more cost effective approach to accomplish the goal. The Grace Retreat was born out of and continues to operate in love, love for God and love for God’s people. No wonder God’s favor and powerful anointing are upon the Grace Retreat, and many next generation Kingdom workers are being raised through it! Do you also want to become a history maker? Here is the first step: Practice selfless love where God has placed you.
From Pastor Sara’s Heart
July 6, 2014