A Glimpse of What You & Your Students Can Expect Through the Retreat
These retreats are made possible by the collaboration of students on campus who are deeply invested in welcoming the next incoming class at their university. Below is a clear overview of what your students will experience as leaders at the retreat and how they will be intentionally challenged to grow as Christ-centered leaders.
Student Involvement
Students can serve in 2 different capacities:
Leadership Team - Quick Descriptions for Leadership Positions
A 10–16 person team that helps shape the retreat to fit their campus. Leaders only meet once a month during the school year, spending a few hours each month planning, praying, and preparing to the retreat for the freshmen.
Student Staff - Staff Position Description
Retreat student staff includes Counselors, CREW, and the Praise Team. They attend 2 to 3 trainings in the spring, they gather the day before the retreat for final prep, and lead and connect with the freshmen each day of the retreat.
Personal Expectations + Growth
Student leaders are expected to be actively involved in a local church and committed to living above reproach, knowing their influence matters. After the retreat, they pursue simple, relational follow-up with freshmen through things like inviting them to church, connecting them to campus ministries, checking in on them and praying for them, or simply being a friend and brother/sister in Christ.
Our desire is for all student staff serving the retreat to deepen their walk with the Lord greatly as a result of serving the Lord in this way. The hope is that their leadership at the retreat will flow from a life shaped by Christ and that the church and ministry they are involved in will be blessed by the growth in Christ they gained by leading through the retreat. Primary areas we hope to help student leaders grow in are:1) their prayer life, 2) confidence in sharing the gospel and sharing their testimony, and 3) being more confident to lead spiritual conversations with Gospel clarity in group and one-on-one settings.
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Prayer Resources + Gospel Fluency (Abridged) + Testimony sharing
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Our post-retreat hopes for student staff are that they will continue to follow up with the freshmen they met, shepherding them into their freshman year. We’ve seen this turn into vibrant discipleship relationships and lifelong friendships, but no matter what, our prayer is that it would help your students grow as ministers as they start the new school year, caring deeply about the spiritual health of these incoming freshmen.
What Students Experience at the Retreat
Our goal for the retreat is to help incoming students start college rooted in Christ, strengthened through Christ-centered community, and bearing fruit for Christ’s name on their campus. We do that by leveraging large group teaching from local ministers covering the following topics. Each large group session is followed by small groups led by the retreat upperclassmen staff and directly connected to the teaching in the large group.
Below is an overview of each main session and how it is practically applied through group discussions and hands-on opportunities.
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Gospel Clarity
Freshmen hear who Jesus is, what He has done, and why it changes everything, followed by small groups where counselors share their own testimonies of coming to know and live for Jesus.
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Where are you Spiritually?
Students are challenged and invited to reflect honestly on their faith, with space for personal reflection followed by gender-specific group discussions.
Spiritual Assessment Reasoning and Guide
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Living for Christ in College and the role the Local Church plays in that
Students learn how the gospel shapes everyday college life and are challenged to see the value of local church involvement to help them grow in Christ and serve Him throughout college.
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Gender Specific Panels
These panels create space for ministry leaders to offer biblical, Christ-centered answers to honest, real-life questions freshmen have about faith, doubt, relationships, struggles, anxieties, and spiritual growth in college. This time is followed by gender specific small groups where many vulnerable conversations have happened that lead to future support and accountability.
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Living Missionally in College
The retreat concludes by helping students identify that the natural byproduct of believing the gospel and choosing to live for Christ in college is to want to make His name known on their campus. In this session and in a small group, they will be exposed to practical ways to live on mission in college.
Ministry Fair
On the middle day of the retreat, there will be a ministry fair where all our Ministry Partners can come together to set up a table, meet freshmen, share about their ministry, exchange contact information, and so have a list of freshmen to follow up with the first week of classes! The hope for this time is for it to be a unifying experience for all involved where no one is recruiting but instead everyone’s heartbeat is the same - that there are many wonderful Ministry Partners the freshmen could connect with and the best thing for freshmen and for the Body of Christ is that these freshmen find their place to connect and they do so quickly and vibrantly.
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Questions?
Contact us at info@oakscolab.com