Who’s ever been worried or anxious? Most Middle School students raised their hands in response to the question posed by High School Bible teacher Urick Lewis at the Middle School Spiritual Emphasis Retreat on October 25. Lewis went on to provide the students with practical, Biblically-rooted strategies to deal with stress in their lives and pointed out that even powerful men of God, like the prophet Elijah, faced worry and stress and needed to turn to God for encouragement and strength. The one-day retreat began on the ACS campus and then students traveled to R & J Farm in Egg Harbor City to spend time together, building closer friendships and also to meet in small groups to further discuss the morning’s topic.
The Middle School retreat began in the morning with a time of worship led by the Wellspring Church praise team, followed by the keynote devotion by Mr. Lewis. The three strategies Lewis shared for how to respond to stress were: 1) to pray; 2) to examine your perspective and change it if needed; and 3) to have people in your life who can encourage you.
“Isolation is a tool that the devil uses to keep us worried and anxious,” Lewis said. “The prophet Elijah isolated himself, but God brought people to minister to him and that’s what he’ll do for you. Don’t try to deal with things all on your own.”
Students gathered in smaller COMPASS groups in the morning to dig deeper into what the Bible says about how to respond to anxiety and stress. One key Bible passage the students examined was Philippians 4:6-7 — “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
At R & J Farm, the students enjoyed picking pumpkins, exploring the corn maze, jumping on a large inflatable, and playing various games. The students also met again in their small groups at the farm to further discuss questions related to dealing with worry and stress, concluding the day with a final wrap-up message from Mr. Lewis.
