Post Tagged with: "Wellspring Church"

8th-12th Grade Students Challenged to Rekindle Their Relationship With God at Re-Ignite Retreat

Students in the 8th-12th grades were challenged to rekindle their relationship with God and to pursue new ways to strengthen their spiritual life during a half-day spiritual emphasis retreat called “Re-Ignite” held on April 20.

Re-Ignite was held from 8:45 a.m. to noon in the ACS gym and included time for praise and worship, prayer, testimonies, and inspiring messages from three area pastors — Pastor Joe Stoop of Wellspring Church in Mays Landing, Pastor Mat Mouliert of Crossroads Fellowship in Pleasantville, and Pastor Matthew Maher of Landmark Church in Ocean City.

“The students were engaged and reflective as they listened to the pastors share their hearts and their passion for developing young people who will seek to honor God with their lives,” said Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. “Each pastor had a unique message that made an impact and we are so grateful for their participation and for the worship leaders who came to be part of this first-time event.”

Before each pastor spoke, worship teams from each church led the students in a time of singing and praising God. In between sessions, the students had the opportunity to break into prayer groups or pray with a faculty or staff member and many chose to do that.  More than half a dozen students also voluntarily stood up to share their personal testimonies of how following God had helped them overcome challenges in their lives.

“We praise God that during this event four students also gave their hearts to the Lord,” Oblen said. “The spirit of God was truly moving throughout the morning and we look forward to holding this kind of event again next year.”

 

Worry Less, Pray More — Middle Schoolers Learn Strategies to Deal with Stress at Spiritual Emphasis Retreat on October 25

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.