Covenant News
Retreat Focuses on Spiritually Mature Young Adults
GLEN SPEY, NY (January 7, 2004) - A total of 536 senior high students and adult counselors participated in WinterFest 2004, a retreat sponsored by the Youth Task Force of the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
A total of 24 churches sent representatives to the annual winter event,
which was held at a Young Life retreat center at Lake Champion, January
2-4. Johnny Agurkis, youth pastor at Covenant Congregational Church in
North Easton, Massachusetts, said the retreat has become a valued
tradition for the conference as it seeks to develop spiritually mature
teens and young adults.
"The impact for Christ that we have seen and continue to see this retreat having on the lives of East Coast students is simply awesome," Agurkis said. "Students now come to this retreat fully expecting to encounter God in a meaningful and intimate way. It is that desire and expectation to experience God that has made this retreat so special."
K.P. Westmoreland, a noted youth speaker and co-founder of Westmoreland Ministries, was the guest speaker. Author of The Quest: Your Role in God's Epic Story, K.P. has twice been featured in Focus on the Family's Breakaway and Brio magazines and has been a featured guest and guest host on the nationally syndicated radio program "Life on the Edge Live." He shared about his walk of faith, which included his deliverance from cocaine addiction, an opportunity to share God's Word in China, and how dribbling a basketball across the entire state of Oklahoma opened doors for ministry that he never would have dreamed possible.
Along with worship services and fun activities were a host of seminars. Seminar topics included Biblical Perspectives on Dating, Sex & Marriage, God in Hip-Hop, Living Out Your Faith in the Real World and Comparative Religions. Students could also try a contemplative "Prayer Labyrinth" as an individual worship experience. Seminar leaders included Rev. Dale Kuehne, Ph.D., a Covenant pastor in New Hampshire; Covenant Bible College-Canada representative Del Pease; Nate Anderson; Lindsay Mitchell and Glen McCarthy.
For more information about this retreat or other events sponsored by the Youth Task Force of the East Coast Conference, email Agurkis at pastorjohnny@ecovchurch.org.
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