5 Reasons to Get Excited About Our Global Retreat

RTIM family, we’re getting closer to our global retreat. There are so many reasons I’m excited to participate with my wife and kids.

So, without further delay, here are my top five reasons I’m excited about the global retreat. Hopefully, they’ll get you excited, too. 

1. Meeting new staff and global worker friends

Since my family officially came on with Reaching & Teaching back in 2014, it has grown by leaps and bounds. There are so many new and excellent global workers and staff we’ve never met. Through the Simeon Trust courses RTIM offers, my wife and I have “met” many staff and global workers online. Our interactions with them have encouraged us tremendously as they challenge us to continue studying God’s Word and persist in gospel ministry. The global retreat will afford us the first opportunity to get to know these wonderful people in person. Our family can’t wait to say thank you in person for their kingdom work.

2. Connecting with old staff and global worker friends

On the other hand, Carol and I have gotten to know many RTIM staff and global workers whom we’ve come to cherish. Some we’ve worked alongside in ministry. Others we’ve developed fast friendships with even if we never worked together. We can’t wait to see these friends again! Our kids, likewise, can’t wait to reconnect with other RTIM kids with whom they’ve become close friends. 

These friendships and partnerships are part of our RTIM story. We can’t wait to relive funny memories. We can’t wait to encourage one another so we learn how to pray for them in the future. 

Life is often full, and it’s difficult to keep up with those who mean so much. So it’s so exciting to have a time when we can intentionally reconnect.  

3. Opportunities for future collaboration

RTIM staff and workers love to collaborate. From considering the missiological implications of our theology to thinking through effective leadership training to talking about what healthy churches look like, RTIM workers regularly work hand-in-hand on many issues. Thankfully, our organization is full of Christians who bring many different gifts to the table. What a blessing to serve alongside so many gifted people! I look forward to seeing how God may give us all more opportunities to collaborate and work together on future projects.

I’m excited to interact with our team because there’s so much to learn from them. In particular, I’m excited to spend some time with seasoned Christian parents. My wife and I want to learn as much as we can, from how to spiritually shepherd our kids better to how we should plan for when they start leaving “the nest.”

4. Worship with others of like-minded purpose

I remember the first worship service we attended on our first stateside assignment. Being able to worship in English again was so powerful that I had difficulty singing through the tears.  

Don’t get me wrong! I love our worship services in Spanish. But there’s something striking about worship in your heart language. The words and ideas simply resonate more when there’s no language barrier. 

So I’m excited to worship with others who share the desire to make Jesus known around the world. What a balm to the soul it will be to join together with our RTIM family in singing praises to our God! I hope we will all come prepared to remind one another of who we serve and whose fame we want to see increase on this earth! 

5. Refreshment and encouragement 

Ministry is worth it, no doubt. But it’s also hard, messy, and tiring. I confess that over the past few weeks, I’ve been preoccupied with making sure everything is in place for us to leave our ministry context so we can go to the retreat. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I actually began to look forward to the break! 

God has made us for work, but he also desires that we rest from time to time. This retreat is an incredible opportunity to be refreshed, so that we can go back to the hard work of our ministry context. It’s an incredible investment in our long-term effectiveness. 

I’m also excited to think of the fun my family will have together, whether it’s just us in our travels or together with other families once we get to the retreat. I’m confident the time spent will be fun, refreshing, rejuvenating, and encouraging.

Let’s pray that God will use this retreat to bless His people (us) so that we can continue to bless His people (those believers to whom we minister) and passionately call others to be a part of His people.