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Fall Encounters

 We just had two back-to-back event filled weekends of encounter retreats for 220!  Nearly 275 Jr. High and High school students spent 3 days encountering God and receiving a fresh start for their lives.

The encounter is a three day retreat that we do each semester. We hold the retreats at Bethany North in Baker, and they conclude with the Sunday morning service at the North Campus.  What is awesome about these retreats is seeing young people truly open up in a way that they never would at a weekly service. On Saturday we have sessions that help them with their self-image, find healing from past hurts, and freedom from past sins.  

Everything culminates with the Cross session on Saturday night.  The focus of this session is for each student to receive a revelation of the price that was paid for their sin and the love that is available to them through the gift of the Cross.  The retreat wraps up on Sunday with teachings on how to live the new life they have, and a session on “Who is the Holy Spirit.” The guys encounter was particularly fun, since we included a 15 foot bonfire on Saturday night.  Each young man ran across a bridge and through a piece of paper that represents their old life into the fire, and yelled, “It is finished!”   

After that they erupted into dancing and shouting.  We even had a fire truck on hand sounding the sirens in celebration. It is truly amazing to see young people get healed and delivered, and it is something we will be celebrating throughout eternity!