The Church of God State Youth Winter Retreat is finalizing details for January 5-7, 2024, at the beautiful Young Life Camp-Timber Wolf Lake. It is located at 4909 N. Morey Road, Lake City, Michigan. We have wonderful ample space, beautiful facilities, awesome leaders and the great events we always look forward to! Check out the camp at www.timberwolf.younglife.org. We are anticipating many churches joining us this January. Each group must have adult chaperones for male and female youth, with each church determining the appropriate number for their group. The retreat is open to Middle School-High School students but college age students are welcome as chaperones or as retreat participants.
Since the start of his relationship with Jesus as a teenager, Mark has sought to serve the Lord in all he does. With a degree in social work and missions, and a master’s in ministry, Mark has served the local church in youth ministry for around 40 years. In 2019, Mark transitioned to the role of Southeast Regional Coordinator for the National Network of Youth Ministries, bringing together youth pastors to encourage them, equip them, and give back out of his years of experience!
Mark and Vickie, his wife of 41 years, are proud parents to 4 grown children, each currently serving in ministry. While young people and those who serve them are a passion, he understands his greatest calling is to his family. Mark enjoys cycling, connecting with people, and spending time with his grandchildren.
Mark has been on the ground floor of the launching of several ministries, visited roughly 50 countries, invested in young people in the local church for about 40 years, and has even written a book.
We welcome Mark back to our Winter Retreat as our guest speaker. He was with us in 2012 and it’s been TOO Long!
Cameron Aldrich, a native of Battle Creek, Michigan, is currently the Gathering Director at The River Church – Lake Orion where he oversees and leads the worship and production ministries. He has worked in multiple church ministry settings focusing on worship ministry for the past seven and a half years dating back to 2014. Prior to his current position, Cameron most recently served as the Worship Director at Farmington Hills Church of God for four and a half years; he also served as the Worship Leader at North Avenue Church of God for more than three years at the start of his ministry career. Cameron received his Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Spring Arbor University, where he majored in Worship Arts/Worship Ministry. Cameron and his wife, Raeann, met at the St. Louis Camp Meeting of the Church of God back in 2014 and have been married for six years. They have three daughters, Adalyn, Ainsley, and Avery.
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Registration,- Dining Hall – move in, game room and gym open
8:30 p.m.
Get acquainted, weekend kick-off; Sawmill Auditorium
9:45 p.m.
Counselors’ Meeting- Sawmill Auditorium
9:45 p.m.
Game room, tubing (until 11:00 p.m.) and gym; snacks served in game room
Snack Bar (open 9:45-11:00)
11:15 p.m.
In your rooms!
12:00 a.m.
Lights out!
9:00 a.m.
Breakfast- Dining Hall
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Singing and sharing - Sawmill Auditorium
12:30 p.m.
Lunch- Cafeteria
1:15-5:00 p.m.
Activity time- contests, tubing, game room, gym
(Coffee Shop open: 1:00-3:00
Store open: 1:00-5:00
Snack Bar open: 3:00-5:00)
5:30 p.m.
Dinner- Cafeteria
7:00 p.m.
Singing and sharing - Sawmill Auditorium
Group sharing time, discussion, and snacks
9:30 p.m.
Game room, gym, tubing, and snacks
Snack Bar (open 9:30-11:00)
11:30 p.m.
In your rooms!
12:00 a.m.
Lights out!
Game Room- lots of great things to do inside! Ping-pong, pool, foosball, air hockey, and carpet ball, etc..
Gym- climbing wall, basketball court, and space for volleyball, or other games.
Outside- there is a great tubing hill and broom ball court too.
Besides these activities, everyone can join in lots of awesome tournaments for great fun!
There is NO cost for any of the activities at Timberwolf!
The camp has shirts, hats, and other souvenirs to purchase in their Trading Post. There is also a Snack Bar (Blue Ox) and a Coffee Shop (Carltons) as well with yummy treats for purchasing.
Prior to Breakfast-Packing Up!
9:00 a.m.
Breakfast- Dining Hall (Snack bar, store, and coffee shop are closed today)
9:45-11:30 a.m.
Singing and sharing - Sawmill Auditorium
11:30-12:30 p.m.
Dorm Clean-up (Mandatory!)
Saying your good-byes!
Scholarships
There are limited scholarship funds available for students that might not be able to attend without assistance. For more information, contact Connie Graham at 989 600-0339 or grahamconnie287@gmail.com. Churches desiring consideration should apply to her no later than Dec. 1.
The cost per person for the entire weekend- all programming, all of the recreation and 4 meals is $130.00. Registration is guaranteed through Dec. 12. After that date, we have to see the availability with the camp. Please report any food allergies on the registration forms or any other special needs.
Groups registering will receive a final email prior to the retreat with last details and reminders.
Young Life camps strongly emphasize serving one another, so we are required to provide kitchen work crew to help their staff with preparing and serving meals. These are adults each church brings in addition to the counselors that are in attendance for the students. We are asking that every group coming brings one volunteer for every seven paying guests and for smaller groups, bringing at least one person to help. Kitchen crew does stay at NO charge! The facilities where these adults stay are wonderful! Helping in this capacity allows adults the opportunity to see what happens at a winter retreat, but not be a one-on-one counselor, but also getting to serve their church group in a wonderful way. The kitchen crew must complete a guest consent release form.
The Timber Wolf Lake Staff are looking forward to hosting us for our State Church of God Youth Winter Retreat. Here is some additional information to share for the volunteers in the work Crew:
Who is Work Crew?
Work Crew serve as volunteers who work directly with the Timber Wolf Lake Food Service Staff as servers in the dining hall, assistant cooks in the kitchen or dishwashers. They will also be disinfecting tables and other surfaces in the dining hall. The camp may add other tasks as needed that will allow Timberwolf to better serve our students and others. Work Crew provides a unique opportunity to serve campers and leaders during their time at Timber Wolf Lake.
• The Crew stays free of charge; meals and housing are provided. Bedding & towels for the Kitchen Crew are provided.
• The Crew must be High School aged or older
Work Crew Responsibilities:
• Upon Friday evening arrival, the Crew will meet with the Food Service Staff and be trained for the weekend. This will take a minimum of 2 hours.
• Wait staff will serve for a minimum of 3 1/2 hours per meal served in the dining hall. They will be responsible for setting tables, serving the meal to guests and cleaning after the meal.
• Assistant cooks will be assigned AM and PM shifts depending on the meals being served for the event. They will assist the Food Service team in preparing food throughout the retreat.
• Dishwashers will serve a minimum of 3 1/2 hours per meal. They will be responsible for cleaning dishes throughout the retreat.
• Crew workers are expected to stay the entire retreat and may be required to work beyond hours listed above based on the needs of the guest group.
• The Work Crew Boss for the retreat will work directly with the Food Service Team to coordinate the Crew.
• On departure day- the crew is required to assist the Food Service Team in cleaning the kitchen and dining hall areas. Adequate time should be allotted in order to complete these tasks before departure.
Work Crew folks should not attend the retreat as regular campers; their responsibilities in the dining hall will require the majority of their time. Please do not plan on Work Crew serving in other capacities throughout the weekend. It may be possible that individuals will still have time to attend a service or see some of the activities of the retreat, but don’t plan on it.
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