Middle school students were encouraged to keep God and His Word at the center of their daily lives at the Middle School Spiritual Emphasis Retreat on November 4 held at the Ocean City Tabernacle in Ocean City.
Pastor Wil Del Valle was the keynote speaker during the one-day retreat in which he emphasized the importance of not letting friends, social media, and other activities crowd out spending time each day to pray and read God’s Word.
“When we read the Bible, we should never lose sight of the wonder of God and how He has demonstrated time and again his power and authority over the universe He created,” Del Valle said. As an example, he recounted the story of when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt and how God parted the Red Sea so that they could cross to safety on the other side. “We should never take these kinds of stories about the amazing acts of God for granted,” Del Valle said.
The Middle School Retreat began in the morning with a time of worship led by Lee Martin, ACS parent and Director of Worship and Communication at the Ocean City Tabernacle, and Alyssa Griffith of Sojourn Community Church. Following worship, Del Valle presented his devotion at the first of two chapel sessions, both of which were followed by the students gathering in smaller COMPASS groups to dig deeper into the devotion lesson. Some of the discussion focused on the value of friendship, exploring how the Bible defines friendship, and what it means to be a good friend.
The nearly 170 students also enjoyed fellowship during an indoor/outdoor group activity time, where students played volleyball, football, soccer, 9 Square in the Air, ping-pong, and more. The retreat concluded with a scavenger hunt down Asbury Avenue, with students organized in their COMPASS small groups searching for various items on the list. The winners of the scavenger hunt will be announced soon.
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.
