Refresh, Renew, REBOUND
Bill Hybels once said, "The best gift you can give the people you lead… is a healthy, energized, fully surrendered, focused self."* Rebound is a chance once a year for those of us who’ve devoted our lives to youth ministry to re-energize, re-focus, and make sure we are bringing healthy and surrendered selves to the ministries we lead.
Over 125 attendees
This year, Rebound was held in Melbourne Beach, FL, November 13-16. About 70 youth workers attended Rebound 2010, all of them with their spouses. Many of these couples have been coming for years and look forward to this annual event as a much-needed getaway where they can enjoy the beach together, be sharpened in a fun mutual community of others who share their passions and struggles and re-center their hearts on the mission God has called them to.
Glenn Olson was a youth pastor for more than 20 years before becoming student ministries director for the North Central District. He and his wife Anne have been at 8 Rebound retreats. Anne said her favorite thing about Rebound is having a designated time each year to get away with Glenn. "It’s something we look forward to," she said. "We always leave there encouraged."
Living where it matters most
"Living Where it Matters Most" was the theme of this year’s retreat. Bill Allison of Cadre Ministries walked us through four sessions: the heart of a disciplemaker, marriage as disciplemaking, parenting as disciplemaking and living life in a disciplemaking community. One more session was a Q&A forum, where Bill and Stacy Allison and Fritz and Connie Dale fielded questions about life, marriage, and family in a ministry context. For many young couples in the room, hearing the stories and wisdom of those who’ve been in the trenches longer than they have was a highlight of the weekend.
Mark Henderson, pastor of youth ministries at First EFC of Ames, IA, said, "I was reminded of the simplicity of how discipleship happens. I need inflow in my life as I learn to follow Jesus, and that will outflow naturally into other people’s lives. I have often focused on improving my outflow of ministry to others, when the improvement that is needed is to improve the inflow in my life connected to Jesus."
Anne Olson also agreed that the disciplemaking theme really struck her. "Discipleship is something you can do wherever you are and whatever situation you’re in, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a youth pastor," she said.
For Greg and me, the biggest realization was that we needed to make times of sacred rest a much more frequent part of our schedule. We’ve since committed a weekly block of time to simply being with God together. We’re grateful to Rebound for the time of refreshment and re-centering on our primary call of being with God.
Next year’s REBOUND retreat
If time on the beach with your spouse and others in the trenches of youth ministry with you sounds like exactly what you need, be sure to watch for information on next year’s retreat coming soon.
Jennifer M. Kvamme is the student ministries coordinator at Centennial EFC (Forest Lake, MN). She also works for Cadre Ministries, developing training materials for local churches and youth ministries, and is the author of number of devotionals and Bible studies. She lives in Hastings, MN, with her wonderful husband, Greg.
*Bill Hybels, "The Art of Self-Leadership" (2001). Leadership Journal (23, 3), p.86
