Subscribe to the NetworkWhen Retreat is a Good Thing
Each year my wife and I get away (here are the vacations we take each year) sans kids for our annual Student Ministries staff retreat. We just now got back from Palm Desert where the sun gently kissed my face each day. Being in youth ministry 13 years now, I realize a) how important it is to get away from the pace of youth ministry, b) how much your spouse values the down time and c) how rare it is to receive this gift from your church each year.
I like the concept of retreat – pulling back from the front lines to prepare to attack again. Not surrender, but rallying the troops back together for another surge. That’s exactly how I would describe this annual trip – pulling back from the front lines of youth ministry and gearing up to do it again. We are fighting a spiritual battle, and too often the concept of retreat is shunned because, “the devil doesn’t take a day off.”
If you have the opportunity to retreat each year – send a note to someone right now and thank them for the precious gift, especially in these economic times. If you don’t – consider starting small and adding a modest increase to your budget, or ask someone in your church with resources if you can use their cabin for a long weekend.
Man, I needed that.
JG
Amen from Hong Kong on the OM Doulos
http://www.omships.org/