With the first humble signs of spring visibly decorating the outdoor surroundings after a long dark winter, a new season of life and refreshment was in the air as a group of leaders and elders from Scandinavia huddled together in a small guest house near Karlsborg, Sweden on April 11-13. The hope of a new season dawning was also prevalant in a spiritual sense inside the guest house, as God breathed new life into that intimate huddle through His Word and in the moments spent in prayer and worship.From Friday afternoon to lunchtime on Sunday the 16 believers shared their testimonies, experiences, and prayer needs for the sake of mutual encouragement and strengthening in between the scheduled Bible studies, worship and prayer sessions and mealtimes.
Leading the Bible studies through the Apostle Paul's second letter to Timothy was John Marsh from the church Fairport Christian near Rochester, NY in the U.S.
"It was a really intense retreat. Not just the Bible studies, but especially the time spent in prayer. God spoke, and it really gave us all something to take home with us. There isn't a better feeling in the world than hearing from God," says John Marsh.
A new retreat ministry evolving
It was only the second time that this type of leadership retreat was put together in Scandinavia, hosted and arranged by Tim Fuchs along with his brothers and parents who all live near the retreat venue."We have sensed a need for the leaders in Scandinavia to come together and be equipped for their ministries and lives, and our vision is to serve those who serve in Calvary ministries across Scandinavia. As long as that need is there and as long as God calls us to do it, we plan to arrange this annual retreat and possibly look for other ways to bless the people serving in the region," says Tim Fuchs.
In the video below (or via this link), you can see a short video with snapshots from this year's leadership retreat.
