By George Hart
AMELIA, Ohio--"I didn't want to come. I missed two basketball games. Now, I'm glad I'm here," said John Stoner of Tipp City, Ohio, about the Christian teen retreat Feb. 13 to 15 at Woodland Lakes Christian Retreat Center near Cincinnati.
Cincinnati East Youth Ministries, led by codirectors Ron and Becky Hickman, were hosts for the retreat. The Cincinnati East church is pastored by George Hart.
Eighty teens from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky attended the retreat.
The theme was "Keeping it Real With Jesus," and the purpose was to help teens develop a better relationship with Jesus through praise, worship, seminars, fun and games.
A key feature was praise and worship music led by Samuel's Ear, an all-teen band from Pendelton, Indiana, led by pastor Jim Blackwell.
The retreat started Friday evening with a praise service led by Dan Partin, Jim Blackwell and Samuel's Ear. The service included testimonies from two young women, Amber Hoover and Christy Taylor.
Amber described how trials in her life, especially her mother's battle with cancer, made Jesus more real to her.
Christy, a student from Cincinnati Bible College, explained how the death of her sister from cancer at age 18 and the death of her father from a heart attack a few months later made God real to her for the first time, even though she believed in Jesus through her entire life.
On Saturday teens attended four seminars:
l In, Out or In Between, led by Rick and Patty Donnerberg. The theme was popularity, and how Christian teens can deal with the desire to be popular.
l How Far Is Too Far, led by Ron and Becky Hickman. The theme was dealing with sexual temptation.
l Reflecting the Son, led by Wane and Julie Creager. The theme was reflecting the character of Jesus.
l Prodigal People, led by Mike and Kathy Newman. The theme was the consequences of rebellion.
Saturday evening the Cincinnati East teens performed two plays:
l The Initiation, a comedy about why youth groups fail to grow because of intolerance of group members. It was performed by Kim Hickman, Sarah Hickman, Erin Hart, Josh Hickman, Andrea Hoover and Jeff Jones.
l When You Pray, Say..., a play that explored prayer. It was performed by Jeff Jones, Amber Hoover, Stephanie Hickman, April Hoover and Chris Creager.
May WN page 19
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