Last March we held a one-night Pastor's retreat and soon found out that time flew by way too fast. After talking it over, we believe that two nights is much more appropriate. Our desire was to do this at the end of November, but coordinating all the pastors is a little difficult. Our plan now is to do it January 16-18. In past messages, I mentioned our budget will be $3,500 and because of your generosity throughout the summer, we have reached our goal! Thank you soooo much!
This is one of my most favorite things we get to do in order to invest in Pastors' lives and give them some "down time" so they can restfully hear the voice of God for their personal lives, marriages, and ministries. Rest, Refocus, and Revive!
Pastors Jimmy and Perla have been ministering on Tuesday nights with a group of people who are eager to know more about God and the Bible. Most of those who attend have never been church-goers and many had not been believers before coming to the Bible Study.
After two years of opening up the group, they (the group) decided they would like to have a weekend Family Camp all together. Thirty-two adults came along with their kids and it was an amazing time! Pastor Jimmy shared on Saturday morning to get things going, Pastor Ernesto from "Perdón y Amistad" Church in San Juan de Abajo, Nayarit, gave a very clear message on Identity Saturday night, and I shared Sunday morning about being Unified with Christ through Communion and Baptism. It was a great time as seven people took the step of Faith and were baptized in Water. One of which who grew up knowing about God through traditions, made a decision to make Jesus Christ as her Savior at the age of 86!
This year's theme was "El Desafío", which also means "The Challenge" just like "EL RETO".
David and Goliath was the main story-line as we find out in life that it's not always easy; there are Goliath's in our path that we need to overcome. We can only overcome with the help of the Lord.
Pastor Chuy did a superb job as leader of this outreach for the very first time. It is so exciting to me to see young people who grew up in church, be the leaders of the church today!
At least 120 students participated this year from almost a dozen different towns and cities in our region. A lot of the students' lives were impacted and many made decisions to follow Jesus.
The description in the YouTube video is in Spanish. Here is the English version:
The youth from Centro Cristiano Cofradía United in Cofradía de Cuyutlán, Nayarit, started their "Challenge" on September 7 and finished on October 5.
Four teams made up of various different towns and cities in our region: Cofradía de Cuyutlán, San Marcos, Santa Fe, Las Pilas, Arrayanes, Rosamorada, El Tigre, Zomatlán, Tamarindo, San Vicente, and Tepic, met together every Saturday to compete in physical and mental activities before coming together in "The Refuge" for Worship and teaching from the Word. The final dynamic of the day was to vote for another team to have to do chores...but...wait!...that team would receive a clue to a hidden treasure; which would give them an opportunity to challenge the winning team in one FINAL CHALLENGE.
The winning team (by points) was the Green team. But, the Black team found the treasure that gave them the opportunity to challenge them. In the end, after flinging a ball at Goliath with a sling, the triumphant team was the GREEN team! Congratulations!
But...WAIT!!!...the point to EL RETO isn't the pride of winning in the end, but instead the winners are each person who HAS LEARNED SOMETHING about God's Love, the Word of God, Leadership, or Life in General. Those who learned something, no matter if their team didn't win the RETO FINAL, they are the true WINNERS.
The purpose of this event is to Reach Out to young people, Restore their relationship with God, and Learn something about HIM.
Thank you to all who contributed to this event, especially Magnolia Bible Church in Texas who made it possible for each student to participate and hear God's Word for free!
This is an annual event that we have done each year since 2005. Our budget is $2,000 US dollars that pays for all the leadership training, promotional materials, props, game supplies, transportation, snacks, and prizes for all 5 weeks. Please consider contributing to EL RETO 2025 starting now. Click on the link below and follow the instructions in red letters. Designate your tax deductible donation for "Cofradia RETO".
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