Making the decision to attend a Growing Strong retreat can be difficult if you don’t know what to expect. Whether you are considering attending a Growing Strong retreat or conference, or thinking about hosting one at your location, here are some things you should expect from your involvement:
- Prayer:
- Expect to be prayed for before, during, and after the retreat.
- Expect to spend time praying with others and on your own.
- Expect prayer to be central in the way the retreat is conducted.
- Challenge:
- Expect to be challenged in regard to how you relate to God.
- Expect to be part of a group that challenges each other to be serious about growing strong in the Lord.
- Expect to face, and overcome, challenges to your participation in the retreat — the enemy doesn’t want you to grow strong.
- Instruction:
- Expect instruction that has the Word of God as its foundation.
- Expect practical instruction based on your facilitator’s application of the Word of God to his life.
- Expect to be involved in the instruction as we share together from the lessons God has taught us.
- Fellowship:
- Expect times when you can deepen existing friendships and build new ones.
- Expect to find enjoyment from the fellowship with others who are also seeking to grow stronger in the Lord.
- Expect fellowship that respects you no matter where you are in this journey of growing strong.
- Change:
- Expect to change something about your view of prayer and/or God.
- Expect God to change your heart in the areas that have become stumbling blocks to your spiritual growth.
- Expect the schedule to change based on the needs of the individuals who make up the retreat group.
And most of all, expect the unexpected! When you begin a journey of growing strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, He often does the unexpected in your life — calling you to experience and share Him in ways you never thought possible for you. As one who likes to know ahead of time what to expect, I can assure you that committing to a journey of growing strong in the Lord can somehow be the most frightening and most exciting experience all at the same time.
While by no means an exhaustive list of what you can expect, I pray that this helps you as you spend time with God praying about how He would have you involved. Whether it is through the Growing Strong ministry, or some other process, I pray that you will decide today that you will be one who indeed grows strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!
In prayer,
Tom Lemler
Growing Strong 