Learn & Serve: Fall 2013 Retreats Wrap-Up!It’s been a busy fall for Learn & Serve at SIFAT! We have had so many wonderful groups from across the southeast come to our campus in Lineville, AL for L&S programming. As we slow down for the winter season, we wanted to share a glimpse of this past season with you! During Fall 2013, we had 1,903 participants experience a variety of Learn & Serve retreat programs. This is a 37% increase from participation in Fall 2012 Retreats! Here are a couple of highlights from our fall retreat groups: Learn & Serve: March Madness!While the world is gearing up for NBA March Madness 2013, the Learn & Serve staff is ready to hit the court for one of our busiest months of the year! March brings many groups to SIFAT’s campus for a variety of programs. L&S currently has more than 15 events scheduled next month with an estimated 750 participants coming to our campus during Spring 2013! Groups will be participating in a variety of L&S programs, as well as using our facilities for their own retreats. We also have several groups coming specifically to volunteer their time to help improve our campus through work projects. Please be in prayer for these participants as they come to SIFAT for their retreats. Pray they will feel the Lord’s presence and learn the lessons he has for them here. Also be in prayer for our staff as they prepare for the busiest weeks of the year. Pray for their energy and hearts as they attempt to share God’s love with all those who come to our campus. Are you coming to SIFAT for a retreat next month? Let us know! Comment on our blog, tweet at us, or visit our Facebook page and tell us why you are excited to come to SIFAT! Learn & Serve: “48: A Slum Experience” Retreat!January 19-21, 2013, eighty participants and thirty-four staff stepped into the life of over one billion people on the planet at “48: A Slum Experience”. This intense retreat allows high school participants, adult leaders, and college-aged staff to experience life in an urban slum environment.  Participants and staff of the 2013 “48: A Slum Experience” retreat celebrate gaining a new awareness of slum life around the world. Learn & Serve: Fall 2012 RetreatsFall 2012 is shaping up to be a busy season for the Learn & Serve staff! We have over thirty retreats and events scheduled for this fall for a wide variety of groups. These groups are coming from all over the southeast to spend time on our campus and experience Learn & Serve (L&S) programming. This fall, we will be hosting groups for more than fifteen Urban Slum Experiences and more than ten Global Village Overnights! Along with these programs, groups will also be participating in times of worship and devotion led by SIFAT staff, appropriate technology trainings, challenge course elements, and more. Through these retreat programs, participants have an opportunity to experience how the majority of our brothers and sisters around the world live every day, and then leave with an understanding of what they can do to respond to what they have learned. The most recent L&S retreat was held for Rome First Baptist Church (RFBC) of Rome, Georgia. The wonderful participants from RFBC participated in a range of activities throughout their weekend retreat. They spent time fellowshipping with each other, worshiping, and diving into our programming. The group spent majority of their time at SIFAT in our Urban Slum and Global Village.  Students from Rome First Baptist Church experience worship during their first night on the SIFAT campus. Learn & Serve: Summer 2012 Worship, from Abstract to ConcreteLearn & Serve Summer 2013 Worship Leader Becca Griffin tells her perspective on how worship at Learn & Serve this past summer provided a bridge for students between concrete and abstract expressions of faith:
Many of the words that are used in singing/teaching/talking about faith tend to be abstract and make it difficult for youth to connect. There is no more lack of desire or devotion for them than anyone else, but a lack of concrete example when it comes to living out the faith that they sing about/learn about/profess. Perhaps connecting the ideas of faith with reality is not a struggle for youth alone, but abstract concepts like love, justice, and following Christ, when only spoken about and not experienced or lived out, make it hard for youth to really learn, practice, or live out those things that they affirm, or have been taught in word to do as Christians.  Learn & Serve students singing in worship at SIFAT’s Quonset Hut. |
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