From across New York, New Jersey and New England approximately 175 staff disciples gathered in New Britain, CT, on Monday-Tuesday, October 27-28. They came together to pray, play and preach to one another regarding how to find a Jesus kind of success in the ministry.
The retreat kicked off on Monday afternoon with Ross Lippencott, New Jersey youth and family minister, and many other talented musicians leading us in worship to God. Following a time of prayer – Portland, Maine, staff couple Glenn and Danielle Petruzzi welcomed the crowd and led us in a rock-paper-scissors’ competition. Florence Schachinger from Southern Connecticut took home this prize and a precious Starbucks gift card.
The opening message was delivered by Douglas Arthur, Boston’s lead evangelist. His speech, “The Measure of Success,” called us all to keep growing, keep knowing and keep going for God’s eternal victory. Discussion groups took place afterward, with a mix of Christians from different places getting deep with each other.
The larger group was called back together with singing, an original Chip Mitchell “Success” video and a time of good news sharing led by Jimmy Rogers from Boston. At the dinner break, all scattered across the area for more relational building time.
The evening session was another high point as New York’s Jim and Teresa Brown teamed with Tom and Sydney Caswell from Worcester to speak on “Keys To Building A Successful Region or Church.” The Browns went after our own personal internal battles with pride and more, while the Caswells hit two important practicals – Build Family and Have High Expectations.
The morning session on Tuesday was keynoted by Sam Powell and Larry Craig from New York sharing about “Successful Partnerships and Teamwork.” Later the men and women split for great times together with teaching on “The Secret To Success” (Southern CT’s Jeff Schachinger and New Jersey’s Johnny Rivera) and “Keeping Your Spiritual Fervor” (six sisters from a variety of locales).
The lunch portion was spent with discipleship groups and then came a free couple of hours in the schedule. Many went to a nearby gym to play dodgeball, basketball and more. Others shopped at the mall or lingered around talking at the church building.
The workshop’s last session would be filled to the max with many preaching regarding “Success in Everything You Do” from Genesis 39:23. Several giants we want to conquer were addressed by the likes of New York’s Damon Curtis and Rob Novak, along with men like Boston’s Javier Amaya and Steve Shoff.
Sam Powell and Douglas Arthur had brief thoughts to close out the time and re-pledged to building stronger our relationships across the Northeast through ongoing pulpit swaps and annual retreats together. They echoed the thought that it was fantastic to connect and strive as one to find success God’s way in our lives, families and ministries.