Southern Oregon/Northern California Youth Retreat

May 1-3, 2009

by CJ Marincus

Those who attended the Southern Oregon/Northern California youth retreat at Kellogg Camp in Sutherlin, Oregon, had a wonderful time of fellowship and spiritual refreshment. Attendees included young people from the branch churches in Dallas, Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford, Oregon; and Eureka, California. Although some had only a short distance to travel, others drove as long as six hours to arrive at the camp. The retreat began with the young people choosing their cabins and grappling over which bunks to claim. After getting situated, the campers were summoned to line up outside the cafeteria for prayer, after which they enjoyed a lasagna dinner.

In the Friday evening chapel service, Randy Lee and Neil Jones, both from Medford, provided the young people with packets designed to help them assess where they were spiritually. Andy Chasteen, from Roseburg, led the young people in a few songs as he accompanied on his guitar. Peter Sletmoe, from Grants Pass, then asked the young people to begin responding to the questions in their packets. Some of the questions were quite tough, but the young people were encouraged to respond honestly, whether they particularly liked the answers or not, in order to determine their spiritual standing. A bonfire was scheduled after the chapel service, but it had to be canceled due to rain, so the young people finished off the evening with snacks in the cafeteria.

Saturday morning began with breakfast in the cafeteria, followed by a morning chapel service. Randy used the illustration of a flower, stating that the center of the flower represented God, while the petals symbolized different aspects of the young people’s lives. He brought out that every aspect (petal) of a Christian’s life should feed off God’s will (illustrated by the center of the flower). The young people then broke up into teams of four or five and looked up Scriptures to ascertain the answers to questions such as “Is our time really ours?” “Is our money really ours?”and “What does God say about commitment?” The individual teams then presented their questions and answers to the rest of the campers. The chapel service concluded with a few congregational songs, a closing prayer, and an opportunity for the young people to spend some time in prayer.

After a wonderful lunch provided by the camp director and his family, the campers participated in various activities, including basketball and volleyball, while others observed from the bleachers or explored the campground. The activities wrapped up with multiple rounds of a basketball game known as “Knockout,” a relay to see which team could make the most baskets in the shortest amount of time.

After dinner, the young people gathered in the chapel for another service. Interspersed with group singing, victorious testimonies were given. Ben Marincus, from Medford, gave the message on “Plotting Our Course to God.” He said that because the young people had been given the opportunity to establish where they were spiritually located, they were now in a position to plot their way to a closer walk with God. A wonderful prayer service followed, and at least one claimed salvation. The young people then enjoyed a great time of fellowship and roasted marshmallows around the camp bonfire, after which they returned to the cafeteria for more food and fellowship before retiring to their bunks for the night.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, there was a short chapel service to conclude the youth retreat. On their way home, many stopped for pizza and one more round of fellowship, and then those who were able attended a Sunday evening young people’s service in Medford—a wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend!

For more pictures, click here.