244 Good Idea or Bad Idea? - Winter Retreats

The best time for college retreats seemed to be at the beginning of Christmas break and return from that trip the day before Christmas. Was it successful yes... for several years. Was it worth it? For the students yes.... for my family who was very gracious to me? No. Why? Because all things in Jesus name are not necessarily the best thing to do. That sounds wild right? We did eventually move these trips to fall during spring breaks, but you have to use at least 2 different spring break weeks to cover a lot of the students since they were not always at the same time. The beauty of the Rocky mountains was always amazing! But... I had not yet learned the one rule, in which I will repeat over and over again for your sakes as leaders... and for you and your families health. "You MUST say NO to something BEFORE you say YES to something else." FYI... That NO should be to some other equal project, ministry, or hobby that takes time from your family and health. All around health is important! Peter Drucker, the Father of  Modern Business and mentor taught Pastor Rick Warren that specific truth. He would always say, "Rick... Tell me what you gave up before you tell me what you are doing next." A few things... It was the best time to get college students enthused and signed up. It was a beautiful time of the year to hit the slopes. Students came from all over the United States and that enthused the local students. The Gospel was shared and souls were saved. What would I do differently now? I would never go at Christmas time. That time should have been reserved for my wife, children, and their memories. I would have moved it to every other year and not every year. _______________________________ Looking for a new student ministry resource? You can read my book "Burn Up Not Out: A Student Ministry Fire Builder's Guidebook" here: https://amzn.to/3PtBTIy Listen to more episodes from the Youth Worker On Fire Podcast here: https://bit.ly/3saDyYq _______________________________ EPISODE CREDITS Email us at: [email protected] Hosted by: Doug Edwards Theme Song: "The One and Only" by The 808 : Listen to more at https://bit.ly/3FTYIAJ Intro/Outro Voiceover: Michael Helms : https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelTheSoundGuy  Edited by: Secret Roots Music House