Springfield Youth Attend Retreat

Written by Tammy Farmer, Youth Director, Precision Valley Baptist Church

On the weekend of January 29-31, 2010, the youth group from Precision Valley Baptist Church in Springfield, Vermont went to the Youth Encountering Christ retreat. This was the first time in many years that we have gone to this retreat. When we left the church, the kids and even the chaperones did not know what to expect but when we got there, our eyes were opened. In Springfield most of our teens are surrounded by non believers all the time. But this weekend we were surrounded by believers seeking the same Christ as we were, and that was such a powerful experience.

During the retreat, we praised the Lord through song and then heard a powerful sermon. At first some of our youth were hesitant to get involved, but then started asking questions about the sermon and how the preacher seemed to understand what they were going through.

On Saturday night the message was about dealing with temptation and that is is okay to share with others what you are struggling with. The preacher asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their heart. Three of our youth responded with tears in their eyes. Then the preacher asked who wanted to rededicate themselves to the Lord and 13 youth and two chaperones went to the altar. The Holy Spirit was there.

Later that evening we went talked about we needed to continue to be on fire for the Lord when we get back to Vermont so we can make an impact for the Lord in our community. One of the middle school youth asked what it felt like to have the Holy Spirit talk to you and described how he was feeling. At that moment I knew our youth had been changed.  They had an experience that will help them to continue to fight the battle with Satan and reach out to people who don’t know the Lord and they WILL make a difference in the lives of others.