Saturday, January 29th 2022 marked the first mini-retreat of the year for the Youth Evangelical Fellowship Africa (YEF Africa). This time, the theme of the retreat was “Resting in Christ” encouraging students to always take time for their busy lives to meditate on the Word of God and come to have a deeper relationship with Him. Overall, the online retreat had eight stable attendants. The retreat was really a joyful time for all the participants and a time of rest in Christ. In addition, two new people joined for the first time, Stecy who was invited by Volunteer Member Maria, and Limbikani, a YEF Zambia student.
The retreat started off with a time of prayer in which the participants were encouraged to prepare their hearts for the messages prepared and to be changed even during this short time. Next was the first Bible study which focused on “Why should we rest in Christ? What are the benefits from resting in Christ?”. The message was shared from Romans 5:1-20 by YEF Africa leader, Anu Samuel and discussed the three main benefits believers get from being justified in Christ. During the Bible study, the students were also reminded of what it means to rest in Christ “It is to have the assurance that everything we need has already been given to us both spiritually and physically, but we need to live this out actively not just deferring from active work.”
After a short time of reflection, the retreat continued with the second Bible study which was focused on Romans 5:1-21, in which the students learned “How they came to rest in Christ”. The Bible study focused on the need for Jesus to die as a propitiation from our sin so we could be free from the root of sin in Adam and have a new root in Christ. The Bible study concluded with a reminder and encouragement for all attendants to remember the things they had learned and live it out in their daily lives. The final program of the retreat was the Special Lecture which focused on What it means to be truly Christian. It was a Q and A based style lecture with participants discussing how they can live as true Christians and what characteristics should they exhibit. Looking at Galatians 3 and Matthew 5, the attendants were able to be guided by the Holy Spirit to live a life born again in Christ.
YEF Africa gives all glory to God for his amazing grace and providence throughout the retreat and prays that the participants were strengthened during their time in attendance. The fellowship prays to be used more powerfully by the Lord to reach out to the African youths and bring them to Christ. YEF Africa plans to continue to hold mini-retreats every month by the grace of God and in the future, they plan to have a hybrid retreat combining both onsite and online participants. Their prayer is that through these retreats, the students may further grow in their dedication to living as true disciples for the Lord. Amen!