Our students recently returned from our annual Impact Weekend Retreat. Over one hundred students and adult leaders went to Camp Longridge in Ridgeway, SC, to experience God’s presence. Impact Weekend is one of the ways we love, reach, and grow students to become fully devoted followers. We were able to reach students who do not regularly attend church and disciple those students who are consistently involved in our church. Our theme for this year’s retreat centered on God’s love for us. 1 John 4:9 reads, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” Though we are sinful, we have joyful fellowship with the Father because Christ died in our place. Even though we are prone to drift toward darkness and sin, God remains our constant source of light. Our students learned that one of the best ways we experience God’s love is through confessing sin. Confession brings us closer to the Lord quicker than anything else. Confession leads to victory over sin. For these reasons, confessing our sins is truly a heart cleansing act and a soul cleansing act. We concluded our retreat with a “share time”, allowing our students to speak in front of their peers about what God taught them throughout the weekend. This is always my favorite thing about taking students to camps and retreats. Almost all of our students shared about how their life was impacted through this weekend experience. Hearing students articulate how God is working in their lives is one of my greatest joys as a Student Pastor. Impact Weekend gave us a great way to launch into 2019. I am anticipating that God will work beyond measure in our Student Ministry this year. As we embark on this journey together, I look forward to growing with you and partnering with you to impact more students’ lives for Christ!