ACS high school students were challenged to put their complete trust in God and to move from just surviving to thriving in their daily lives at the two-day Spiritual Emphasis Retreat from September 30 to October 1 at America’s Keswick.
During three retreat chapels, keynote speaker Jonathan Gonzalez shared his personal testimony, encouraged students with Bible passages about trusting God and His promises, and focused on how to become “deeply rooted” in Christ, expanding on this year’s spiritual theme verse from Jeremiah 17:7-8. Gonzalez is the Director of Youth Ministries and Facilities at the Ocean City Tabernacle and is a pastor at Praise Tabernacle. His wife, Ashley, is an ACS preschool aide and their two children attend ACS.
The retreat included time for singing and worship, which was led by Gabe Conley, the Student Ministries Leader at Coastal Christian Church. Students also broke into smaller COMPASS groups, where the high school teachers facilitated deeper discussion on the speaker’s messages. Students also enjoyed competing in teams for a scavenger hunt and gathering for a bonfire by the lake. In free time, the students found plenty of ways to bond through a variety of recreational activities, including canoeing, volleyball, basketball, tennis, ping-pong, and swimming.
“The goal of our annual Spiritual Emphasis Retreat is to see our students grow spiritually and develop stronger relationships with each other and their teachers,” said Upper School Vice Principal Andrew Carney, who was the retreat coordinator for the group of nearly 100 students and high school teachers who attended. “I could really feel the Holy Spirit moving at the retreat as the students listened to the powerful messages from our keynote speaker and as they spent time together in worship,” Carney said. “I had many students tell me on the last day of the retreat that they didn’t want it to be over.”
Gonzalez shared that his experience at the retreat was different from another speaking engagement he has been a part of. “The level of engagement, response, and hunger for God from the students was truly inspiring,” Gonzalez said. “God truly touched the lives of many students during the sessions.”
Evangelina Kim said a special memory from the retreat was getting up early one morning and going with eight other 10th grade girls to watch the sunrise over the lake. “I really felt that we bonded a lot through the various activities and the many conversations we had in small groups,” Kim said.
12th grader Elizabeth Alford said she enjoyed helping lead worship at the bonfire, which she said happened spontaneously, as she, Destiny Brewer, Tommy Ellison, and Evan Power decided to join Gabe Conely as he played the guitar. “It was great to see our high school community come together and worship,” Alford said.
11th grader Cruz Lewis was impacted by the personal testimony of the keynote speaker, who shared the impactful story of how he committed his life to Christ after a near-death experience as the victim of a car accident at the age of 17. “Jonathan’s testimony was incredible,” Lewis said. “God really woke him up and it made me think — God wants me to get my stuff together.”
Neary 140 students in middle school will be participating in the Middle School Spiritual Emphasis Retreat which will be held next week on Monday, October 25. The keynote speaker will be Pastor Urick Lewis, who teaches High School Bible at ACS and serves in the youth ministry at Fresh Start Church.
