No Reserves, No Retreat, No Regrets! This was the theme of this year’s 2016 SIAFU Wichita Men’s Retreat. Over 120 men from the Midwest joined together at Morning Star Ranch to experience the best men’s retreat yet. This year was a little different because it was the first year that a leadership team of five urban men planned and co-led the entire retreat.
These five men planned for eight months. All the electives, worship leaders, and schedule were all chosen by these leaders. I challenged them to own the retreat this year. They planned the retreat so it was only right that they took ownership of it. After the first night, they started to believe that they could actually run the retreat. I asked one guy to take the lead on the next activity and the next words out of his mouth were, “I got this!”
It was a great opportunity for men from the city to come and relax and encourage one another through fellowship. They fished and played basketball and did archery and hiked. Many of them participated in this year’s “man project”—a wood burning project based on designs from the retreat theme. It was a time of fun, competition, and relaxation but it was also a powerful time spiritually.
During the weekend, 20 men came to know Christ as their Savior. Many men responded to the call of ministry and were prayed over and anointed with oil. This was a powerful time and the Holy Spirit was moving in a mighty way. Men were challenged, encouraged, and strengthened in huge ways during this great weekend. One of the guys on the leadership team told me that he thinks God is blessing the work of empowering urban leaders and I wholeheartedly agree!
Continue to pray for these mighty men and leaders. The five leaders who ran the treat are going to take complete leadership of next year’s men’s retreat. Empowering leaders is something that is easy to talk about but not always easy to do. This past weekend was a huge step in empowering these men to lead. During the last main session, there were only two World Impact staff in the room. It was a great feeling to know that the urban leaders were getting more confident to lead and we were only there to support them in it. No Reserves! No Retreat! No Regrets!
