In a funky, Warwick, Rhode Island hotel – 40 brothers on staff from all of the New England congregations of the International churches of Christ gathered from May 5-7 to fellowship, play, pray, preach, sing, compete and draw closer to God. Since the women of the New England staff had their own retreat a couple of months back, the men were more than ready for their adventure, and it all got started on a Sunday night.First, the fellas just arrived.At different hours of the afternoon and evening, the guys headed out together for dinner, played pool, dealt cards and chilled at their get-a-way spot.
Monday morning kicked off the “Man of Steel” program. Following breakfast - spirited singing led by a number of brothers, good news, ministry ideas and encouragement was shared by many.
Sajjan Sharma from the Pioneer Valley, MA, congregation kicked off the preaching portion with a moving lesson called “Marathon Man.”Sajjan was running in the marathon when the bombs went off.He learned some deep lessons from his experience and from God’s word as well (Hebrews 11:32-28
).The next section entitled “Mission Possible” was shared by three men – Hartford’s Tim Blake, as well as Mike Van Auken and Larry Reed from Boston.They called us to different areas of ministry excellence – “Turning It Around,” “Raising Up Leaders” and “Baptizing Large Numbers.”
One of the event highlights was the one-hour discipleship group that followed.All of the participants split into groups of four.It was very moving to see and be a part of the eclectic mix of ages, races and backgrounds being vulnerable in attempts to grow closer to God and other men.
After a very focused morning inside the hotel – the afternoon and evening saw the group take it to the streets of Warwick.
At 2 PM, a highly spirited competition of duckpin bowling by teams broke out.Teams like the Gators, Riff Raff and Southern Comfort competed for the coveted prize – snacks at the movie to come.The movie, “Iron Man 3,” followed a group meal.More fellowship, laughter and fun ensued into the late hours of Monday night.
The final morning brought business bits and another time of songs and prayer.Announcements regarding church plantings, preaching swaps, a new mission’s board and more led into the final session.
Douglas Arthur from Boston closed out the event with a captivating, culminating sermon on the theme, “Man of Steel.”As only Doug can, he dissected Psalm 66
in new, creative, humorous and intense ways.Doug put his own life on display – the good, the bad and the ugly – as he called us to “get good at getting better” no matter what comes, thorns and all (II Corinthians 12:1-10).A final song and lengthy fellowship closed out a refreshing, fun and inspiring time.Special thanks goes out to Joe Gattozzi and Larry Reed for putting together the logistics of these three days of revival. Read more and see more pictures at Hartfordchurch.org