From the Pastor’s Desk (306)
In past years, as the fall retreat registration period rolled around, I often told New Life that it might be our last retreat as a whole church because our congregation was growing and Camp Allen’s capacity was limited. However, we have been able to continue holding our church-wide retreat every year because Camp Allen keeps expanding and building more lodges.
Each time registration begins, I watch our Maturity Team work tirelessly and meticulously to assign lodges based on everyone’s needs and preferences. But we have reached a point where we need a simpler, more streamlined approach to housing.
Therefore, starting next year, we are returning to a tiered first-come, first-served registration basis. We will no longer attempt to group people by house churches.
I often hear members say that they rarely get to know anyone outside their own house church, expressing a desire to meet brothers and sisters from other groups. New Life provides many avenues to connect across the broader church body—joint house churches, Bible studies, ministry teams, mission trips, and retreats are all great ways to build those relationships.
We want to remind you that one of the primary purposes of the fall retreat is to build connections with people from different house churches. Of course, you can still sit with your house church during worship services or gather together during free time. However, with this first-come, first-served retreat registration process, there will be many of you from house churches made up of both married couples and singles who will be separated from each other, because the married couples will most likely stay in hotel rooms and the singles will stay at the campsites. Furthermore, our college students will no longer be exclusively assigned to Campsite 4 (the newest campsite facility). We want college students and single adults to get to know each other as well. All of us will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Regarding hotel rooms, priority will naturally be given to married couples with young children for obvious practical reasons. The next priority will go to singles who are actively serving on the retreat serving team, with a need to stay closer to the dining hall and chapel.
Once hotel capacity is reached, we will fill in the lodges and Lakeside cabins, followed by the campsites starting with Campsite 4.
When assigning remaining accommodations, the Maturity Team will honor the timestamp of registration, prioritizing families with young children, followed by married couples, and then singles. I ask our singles to show grace and consideration toward our families without grumbling or complaining.
I was also saddened to hear that some who were assigned to campsites chose to sleep in their cars because they felt the cabins weren’t clean enough. I don’t know when this kind of entitlement crept into New Life, but complaining about Camp Allen’s facilities is disheartening—especially when you consider that these campsites are like paradise compared to the accommodations on many of our mission fields. To set an example, I plan to stay in one of the campsites myself this year so that no one feels slighted. Furthermore, registration fees will be tiered based on lodging type, so those staying in campsites will pay a lower rate.
Let’s refrain from complaining and instead respond with maturity. Let’s honor God by keeping a thankful heart toward our Maturity Team, whose hard work makes this retreat possible every year.
Your pastor,
Pastor Eric
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