College Students Connect and Grow at NEXT Retreat

Earlier this month, we were excited to host the very first NEXT retreat! NEXT is a ministry designed to engage college students in a way that tethers them to the local church and grows them as followers of Christ during a pivotal season of life.

The event took place at Pine Cove, and 120 students attended, along with 35 leaders and volunteers. Students heard teaching on the topics of fragility and resilience and how our obsessive focus on self leads to anxiety and/or arrogance. There was a lot for students to process, and they were thankful for their leaders and one another to be able to discuss these ideas in community and spend time in worship. And of course, they also had time for pickleball, socializing, playing games, and a dessert hour trivia challenge!

Many participants expressed their gratitude for biblical teaching on these topics. As they go back to a college environment where everyone is continually stressed or overwhelmed, our prayer is that they would continue to try and figure out what it looks like to follow Jesus as a college student. Will you join us in praying that they would find a sturdy hope outside of their circumstances and anchor themselves in the stability of God’s Word and the local church?

If you would like to learn more about NEXT, please email Dillon Carpenter at dcarpenter@gracechurchsc.org.