Every year, Middle School students celebrate the start of a new school year with a fun, faith-filled retreat. In prior years, the students traveled to Sky Ranch for their annual tradition. This year, the event was held on campus. Many students enjoyed the on-campus retreat as they had more time to connect with their friends. Eighth Grade student Blake Dunham said, “My favorite part of Retreat was being able to spend time with my friends and making friends with the new students.”

This year’s theme was  “A Road Less Traveled.” Middle School students enjoyed learning about the theme and were challenged to live it out in their daily lives. When asked what the theme meant to her, Sixth-grade student Emily Glenn said, “To not be dependent on others and seek your own path,” and Seventh Grade student Reese Glass said, “I was challenged to be flexible.” Many students enjoyed the retreat, not only for the spiritual aspect but for the fun aspect. 

Students also got to participate in various activities like volleyball, dodgeball, shuffleboard, and board games. Reese said, “I really liked nine-square.”  Blake said “dodgeball’ was his favorite activity, and Emily said, “my favorite activity was playing volleyball with friends.”  Students enjoyed hanging out with friends.

Worship and time in God’s word were another big part of Retreat. There were many great takeaways from the messages shared at the retreat. Reese said, “God taught me that things don’t always go my way,” which explains the need to be flexible. Blake said, “It changed me because even though it is the path that few people choose to follow, it is the one that has the most reward in heaven.”

All in all, it was an excellent experience for the Middle School students to have a day off from academics to spend time with their friends and have fun and learn about God’s Word.