The Woods: God’s Favorite Classroom

Each fall, Broad Street’s youth in middle and high school go on a fall retreat into the woods and nature. This gives our group time to laugh, to rest, and to remember that God meets us not only in our church building, but everywhere. This year’s retreat became a true faith and friendship retreat, opening space for connection and spiritual growth.

This year’s theme was friendship, conflict, and forgiveness. In a world shaped by social media, packed calendars, and constant comparison, carving out time to reflect on relationships is important and holy work.

We heard that clearly in the voices of our youth.

Play and Growing Closer to God

For 8^th grader Riordan, he experiences friendship every time he comes to church, youth group, and a retreat.  For Riordan, friendship looked like playing as a team, cooking meals together, and discovering that faith is close at hand when we are being fully ourselves.

He shared about the retreat:

“My favorite activities were laser tag and playing human foosball. Laser tag was really fun because we got to do team rounds and work together. Human foosball was also really fun because we got to be the foosball people ourselves, and we all played together.”

He also reflected, adding:

“I really enjoyed getting to cook meals with my friends. And the sessions were really deep, and overall, this retreat really helped bring me closer to God.”

It’s such a holy reminder: God’s presence isn’t separate from play. It shows up in laughter, teamwork, and games. Sometimes closeness to God feels like quiet prayer. Sometimes it feels like being sweaty, tired, and full of belonging.

Friendship

For Liberty, one of our 11^th graders, the theme took on a deeper layer as friendships change, expectations shift, and life gets more complex.

She shared:

“This year, our theme was friendship, which feels more important than ever with social media and the way it affects how we communicate. Respect and boundaries can get lost so easily online. We talked about what healthy boundaries look like, what it means to be a good friend, and how to have honest conversations with friends.”

There’s wisdom here: relationships take intention. They ask something of us. And even middle schoolers, she noted, are wrestling with that.

She wrote,

“It was also nice to talk with the middle schoolers and help them see that the ‘big arguments’ they are worried about usually aren’t as dramatic as they feel in the moment. Most of the time, we just need to communicate better and find healthier ways to work through conflict.”

Later, she described sitting by the campfire with her fellow juniors, looking back at how friendships have stretched, shifted, and matured over the years.

“It reminded me how important it is to trust that God has a plan for each of us.”

Friendship is holy work. Sometimes tender. Sometimes hard.

Why Retreat Matters

Together, our youth show us the value of time apart, a retreat:

• Fun and reflection
• Games and worship
• Stories and sacred insight

We step away from the noise and find the space to notice God in our lives. We hope you do too this Advent season.