When you stop for a moment and imagine what worshipping God in Heaven will look, sound, or feel like, what do you imagine? Do you imagine you are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with family members that you have not seen in years? Do you see the person(s) that you led to Christ but lost touch with?
I see myself standing next to the repentant criminal that hung next to Jesus on the cross.
This was not always how I imagined heaven. My view has changed as I have enjoyed the privilege of being a part of the planning team for an ever-growing regional women’s retreat in the Midwest. I also have the privilege of seeing the regional men’s conference through testimonies, videos and photos and it is just as heavenly. Each year, over 350 men and women attend our regional retreats. The women gather each spring and the men each fall. Both weekends are completely different and uniquely similar at the same time.
When they arrive on a Friday evening and the calm and quiet of MSR Camp & Retreat Center is transformed. At the women’s retreat, Martha’s loud giggle can be heard for miles over the Flint Hills of Kansas and a tight hug from Vicki quickly erases a year of not being able to see her in person. Pastor Odum’s (pictured above) enthusiasm upon arriving at Men’s Conference with a busload of men from Topeka starts to spread and the energy level steadily climbs.
Vicki has faithfully made the seven-hour drive from St. Louis to the retreat alone for the past two years. She is the legal guardian of her three grandchildren, so she does not find much time for herself. At the retreat, she connected with women that share her same struggles of living in an inner city neighborhood filled with crime. But she also shares that “little light of mine” that burns so bright in a dark world. She left the retreat filled and ready to take on all that God has given her.
Pastor Odum enjoyed watching his men bond with each other and with the men from other Midwest churches while they were “out in the middle of nowhere.” Retreats are a chance for men to get away from the everyday life and just be with their Brothers. Pastor Odum’s church in Topeka brought three men their first year. They came back with eleven the next! He is already looking forward to the October conference this year because he knows it will, once again, be “off the chain!”
My little taste of heaven comes when everyone arrives in the meeting hall and the band begins to play. The chatter turns into singing and suddenly, we are all the same. The preacher’s wife stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a woman who was only recently released from jail where she met Jesus. The woman who spent a lifetime hiding her shame and guilt of a life of drugs and crime stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a woman that came out of that life and now has a rehabilitation center and resources to share. The men’s conference is no different. The man that came reluctantly because he did not want to take time off from his well-paying job stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a man that has been out of work for a year and is living in the rescue mission. The man who presents himself stronger than he really feels finds strength in a brotherhood of believers that allows him to put it all at the feet of Jesus.
When Jesus hung on that cross—shouldering all my sin and rejected from his Father—he still had eternity in mind. He extended his grace to a man that so desperately needed it. Our Midwest Regional Men’s and Women’s Conferences and Retreats are just that, a taste of eternity. So we can all go back and fight the good fight in a dark world.
It is not just my imagination that these 350 men and women are standing strong together, knowing they are empowered to fight the battle of darkness through the strength of a mighty God. I have seen it with my own eyes. This is real. Palpable. Tangible.
Amber Carter leads the Communications Team for the Midwest Region and assists in the Wichita hospitality ministry.
