Story of the Week
Fall Retreat: Equipped and sent
Greetings!
Imagine a day when students know their value in Christ and become an unstoppable generation, when God's name is known by all, when students see how desperate they are for Christ. This is the day CSP mentors and staff imagined together and trained for at the fall retreat.
Kicking off with a powerful message of grace, the retreat had no shortage of training geared towards shaping people to do ministry.
"I am learning I have to let it sink in that God's got it all taken care of. If we are walking in his grace with confidence it should consume us and motivate us," mentor Juan said.
New to CSP, Juan feels like his team has already become like a family through their experiences at the retreat.
"I am so excited for high school students to experience the love, the freedom, and the assurance that I've come to know," Juan.
Trey is one mentor who has seen the impact of CSP firsthand in his own high school. As the co-president of the Christian club at California High School, he partnered with his CSP mentors to put on a rally that brought in twice as many people as they expected.
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Trey sharing at a retreat session
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"Because of CSP helping my school, I want to do that for other high schools. How God helps us, we must turn around and help others," Trey said.
While Trey has never witnessed before, the retreat helped him learn what it looks like to take that step forward.
Four of the mentors joined CSP on Thursday and managed to come to the retreat on Friday. Kyle was one of these four who felt a tugging on their heart that they needed to be at the retreat.
"In high school I knew that God had a call on my life and I needed to share him with my friends, but I couldn't do it. This retreat is convicting me."
Kyle realized that God had to plant several seeds along the way for him to come to the retreat, which he considers as a gift. In his notes he jotted down why he is doing ministry:
"I'm sharing the good news because God saves me; because I don't deserve his love; because Jesus died on a cross for me, but not only for me--for you too."
The high point of the weekend for Kyle was the opportunity to put faith into action by witnessing in the town of Idyllwild. Being exposed to people with completely different beliefs helped him see how urgent ministry is, bringing him to his knees in prayer.
His partner Sarah said, "There really is spiritual warfare going on. We really need Christian community to support us; we can't do it on our own."
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The Whole Team
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In a service on Saturday night, the teams were commissioned to go out and serve now. Equipped with the tools to do God's work, the mentors have been refined to empower high school students starting today.
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During the retreat, CSP media members created an impromptu music video of the worship team performing at the campgrounds. This incredible song was written and composed by Jack, the worship leader for the weekend. Please enjoy this musical performance; the CSP team was incredibly blessed through the music this weekend, and we hope you enjoy a taste of it!
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Banner Over Thee Is Love Music Video
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