At Fall Retreat, King’s Community Explores the Theme of the Gospel

On September 7-9, over 400 students from The King’s College went to the beautiful, wooded Camp Iroquois Springs in Rock Hill, N.Y., for the annual Fall Retreat. This was the largest Fall Retreat in the history of The King’s College NYC. Nearly 50 faculty and staff (and spouses) joined the students for the weekend, as well as nine children.

Fall Retreat is the biggest project of the year for Student Body President Michael Martinez and The King’s Cabinet. This year, the Cabinet consists of junior Elle Rogers (Director of Communications), senior Emily Bingham (Director of Finance), junior Nick Beckman (Director of Student Organizations), junior Lizzy Logan (Director of Student Events), and senior Carter Fletcher (Director of Spiritual Life). Martinez and the Cabinet work closely with Vice President for Student Development Eric Bennett.

“The Gospel” was the theme of this year’s retreat. In a statement to the student body on the theme, Bennett and Fletcher wrote that the idea was to focus on “a ‘back to basics’ approach to our Christian Faith.” In the midst of rigorous intellectual culture of the College, they wrote, it is easy to forget that “we cannot exhaustively know a God who is beyond our understanding. The Gospel shows us why we can trust God when we come to questions of the Faith that we do not fully understand, because we can look to Christ and what He did for us on The Cross.”

During the retreat, there were four main sessions on the theme, presented by President Gregory Alan Thornbury, Dr. Anthony Bradley, Dr. Kimberly Reeve, and Bennett. In addition, there were 17 breakout sessions designed to give students time and space to reflect on the Gospel and what it means for their lives. Refuge, a student organization dedicated to praise and worship through song, lead three worship sessions. A 16-member gospel choir led by Caroline Walker (’19) and Amara Oguhebe (’19) opened the weekend with an a cappella version of “How Great is Our God.”

Reflecting on the sessions and the worship, Fletcher said that the retreat was a powerful time for the community.

“It made me reflect on all the things I have done in my life that are sinful and disobedient to my Creator and Savior, all the ways I continue to fail Him every day,” he said. “But it was beautiful because it reminds me that God still chooses to work through broken people.”

In keeping with King’s tradition, this weekend of deep reflection had plenty of opportunities for fun and laughter as well. Thornbury kicked off the weekend by singing “Bennie and the Jets” on guitar and harmonica, with the whole school joining him in the chorus. A late-night dodgeball tournament gave students a chance to blow off steam from the first few weeks of school. The Drama Competition, the second event in the annual House Competition, also takes place during Fall Retreat. Each House crafts a skit around the theme and performs it. This year, the House of Reagan won first place, with the House of Barton taking second and the House of Ten Boom third. Afterwards, everybody gathered for a bonfire, s’mores, and a dance party.

Martinez said after the retreat, “God’s spirit was at work and life change was happening. This week allowed lifelong friendships to develop and sweet memories to be made, and I am so thankful for it.”

According to Bennett, the retreat was an invigorating time for the student body, and he expressed his excitement to see how the King’s community continues to explore the joy and peace of the Gospel during this school year.

“The King’s College mission statement begins with the phrase, ‘Through the truths of Christianity and a biblical world view…’ That means everything we do begins and ends with the Word of God,” he said.