Men's Retreat - October 19-20

Every year Tri-City Baptist Church has a Men's Retreat so that the men of the church can get away from the city and fellowship, make new friends, get to know the pastors outside of a church setting, and learn from God's Word. This year's retreat was held in Payson October 19-20.

The men had a wonderful time before the retreat even began; around 40 went to Payson early to play soccer and football. Most of the men arrived in time for the steak dinner, and in the end around 90 guys ages 7 to 70 came.

The Friday night fire circle was a fun time; for almost everyone it was the first time they had been cold in 6 months. During free time afterward the men played games in the dining hall or sat around the fire place and talked. Junk food is always provided during the game time because no one is around to tell the men they shouldn’t eat that. Some stayed up all night playing games.

Saturday began with a prayer meeting, and after breakfast was time for personal devotions. Fathers there with their sons were encouraged to have a devotion time together. This is always a real blessing for our fathers.

Four different workshops were offered during the first session. Pastor Mike spoke on Dealing With Difficult People, Pastor Jim spoke on Comforting Others In Crisis, Pastor Stertzbach spoke on Being a Spiritual Leader in Your Home, and Pastor Chris spoke to all the young men under 18.

In the last session we sang for half an hour before Pastor Mike challenged everyone about Pride. The singing was a big blessing. With just men everyone felt freer to sing out, louder than they usually sing in church. The blending of all those male voices sounded incredible.

After lunch everyone was free to go home, but some stayed to fish or hike. The two hour trip up and back was another blessing of the weekend; what a great time for fellowship and building friendships.