Youth Department’s ‘Trifecta Retreats’ Disciple Young People for Christ

Over 200 young people attended the three retreats held at Mt. Aetna from April 22-24.

Youth and young adults from around Chesapeake Conference gathered in Hagerstown, Md., for three retreats held simultaneously at Mt. Aetna Retreat Center from April 22-24.

The “Trifecta Retreats” weekend organized by the conference Youth Department featured retreats for young adults, Pathfinder teen leaders in training (TLTs), and Hispanic youth and young adults (FEJA). Over 200 young people participated in the weekend retreats. 

The keynote speaker for the Pathfinder TLT retreat was Javier Mendez, who spoke on the theme “Wonderfully Made.” Babawale Adepoju, pastor of the Reisterstown Church and associate pastor of the Pikesville Church, addressed the young adults on the theme “Finding I AM.” Anibal Santeliz, pastor of the Bowie Spanish, Waldorf Spanish, Halethorpe Spanish, and Glen Burnie Spanish churches, was the speaker for the FEJA retreat, “Shadows.”

In addition to the presentations, the retreats featured opportunities for young people to make friends with peers from around the conference during breakout sessions and activities. One of the weekend highlights was a bowling outing on Saturday night.

“The goal of these retreats is to disciple young people for Christ by teaching them how to use their gifts for mission and service,” says Ann Reynolds, children’s ministries director and assistant youth director for Chesapeake Conference. “It was great working with our team of volunteer leaders and seeing their dedication toward that goal.”