Ashburn, VA >> Members of Grace Community Church spent their July 4th weekend together at a church-wide retreat for families and singles. Read about their riverside baptism, drama for kids, and what happened when senior pastor Bob Donohue opened the mic for testimonies.
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On the Fourth of July weekend, more than 250 members of Grace Community Church traveled to the campus of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for our second annual Family Retreat. This year’s theme: Encountering God.
Kicking off the retreat Saturday night with exposition from the book of Job, senior pastor Bob Donohue spoke on how we ought to encounter God in suffering. He used the three sections of the book to illustrate the mystery behind suffering, the misery of suffering, and the mercy beyond suffering. We need to steel ourselves in trials against doubting God’s justice; like Job, we will see his sovereign mercy and wisdom in the end. He is God, and we are not!
On Sunday morning, Brent and Jenny Detwiler led breakout sessions for the men and women. The men discussed being a husband, father, and provider, and the women discussed “Cultivating a Heart for the Lord.” Basing his discussion on Ephesians 5 and 6, Brent exhorted the men to lead their households in consistency and wisdom, instruction and discipline, just as Christ leads the Church. Meanwhile, using Mary and Abigail as examples, Jenny exhorted the ladies to be prepared to accept any turn of God’s will by immersing ourselves in him and his word every day.
Children’s ministry was spearheaded by Rich and Robyn Holcomb. They started each session with an assembly for all the kids, beginning with a serial-style skit and culminating with a reading and slideshow of Aslan’s substitutionary death and resurrection from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. After the assembly, the kids broke down into age groups and sang worship songs, made crafts, and heard Bible teachings as they learned how to encounter God.
Sunday afternoon was family free time. The highlight was access to the campus activity room, complete with arcade games, foosball, pool tables, and even a bowling alley!
Sunday evening Brent Detwiler spoke on encountering God through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, particularly through prophecy and tongues. He used passages in 1 Corinthians 14 to demonstrate that the “charismatic” gifts are readily available to the universal Church. Furthermore, he pointed out that Scripture gives no indication that their time has ceased. The upshot: we should eagerly desire the spiritual gifts. After the message he issued an altar call, at which he encouraged people to ask for the gifts. Dozens of people came up to receive prayer; one latecomer said “it looked like there were many more people up front than in the seats.”
For Monday morning’s message, Bob Donohue opened by giving praise and glory to God, then he challenged us from Psalm 105 to “make known among the nations what he has done.” He opened the microphone to the testimonies of people who had been deeply affected the previous night. We heard story after story of healing, deliverance, salvation, and renewed hope. After thirteen people had shared, Bob was forced to cut things short so we wouldn’t miss our scheduled lunch! The praise probably would have continued all afternoon!
Finally, pastors Bob Donohue and Tito Mercado baptized six people in the Shenandoah River: Arman Karimian, Jessica Faul, Becky Swistock, Devon Conn, Josh Finch, and Marty Romanik. The river was just a short walk from campus, and approximately 100 people came out to watch.
Many clustered at the bottom of the boat ramp, but many others (especially a horde of little children) waded right into the water to get the best view. Even the worship leader waded in with his guitar to lead us in song. After each individual gave a short testimony of faith in Jesus Christ, he or she was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It was a time of great solemnity, but also a time of great merriment and joy—all of us being members of a very close family sharing a pivotal moment of faith.
You can see more pictures and read stories at Grace Community Church's website.
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