We kicked the new year off right here at FCA-Metro KC with our annual College Leadership Retreat on January 2nd -4th. Fifty college students from Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska gathered at the FCA World Headquarters to get a spiritual jump start on the new year and the new semester. Our weekend was filled with passionate worship, lots of late night talks, collaborating on how to make each school’s FCA huddles better, crazy team building activities, digging into the Word, lots of laughs, hanging out, small group discussions on how to apply God’s truths to our lives, and lots of great food. What more could you want to start the new year off right?

The Lord provided a great group of His servants to lead up the weekend and pour into our college students. Jesse Land, a worship leader at First Baptist Church of Raytown, did an awesome job of leading us in times of worshipping our amazing God. Amy Marino, FCA staffer, travelled all the way from Alaska to be with us again this year as one of our speakers and challenge us with her zeal for the Lord. Also giving us insight into Scripture and challenging us was Jason Allen, the lead pastor of Life Connection Church in Independence, MO. FCA’s very own Sharing the Victory Magazine office manager, Ashley Burns, was the creative genius behind all our crazy-fun team building times. And the real heroes of the weekend—the huddle leaders—were FCA staff and volunteers from around the area, who spent all weekend doing life with the college students and leading their small group discussion times. All these awesome God followers combined helped create an atmosphere where it was obvious that the Spirit of God was moving and working—in BIG ways.

Throughout the weekend, we spent time digging into Romans 8. Here are some of the Scriptures and the truths that Amy and Jason challenged us with by the leading of the Holy Spirit:  

Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

As followers of Christ, we can trust that He paid the price for us on the cross. We are no longer condemned, so we must live like people who know this truth. We should live with the horrible visual of Christ’s death before us, so that we truly live as those set free from sin and death by His price paid.

Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.

We as believers are called to be led by the Spirit of God who lives in us—daily. Are we constantly asking God to speak to us and to guide our every move? We want to be to the point where He even tells us who to talk to and gives us wisdom about what they need to hear—to truly be God’s mouthpiece on our campuses and everywhere He leads us.

Romans 8:14-17
Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

We are able to be adopted in the holy family of God because Christ was literally booted out of the family...for a while.  In Mark 15:34, it tells us that God forsook Jesus as He was bearing all of our sin on the cross. Jesus suffered the ultimate suffering—being abandoned by God the Father—for our sakes. What a humbling thought.

Romans 8:31-32; 37-39
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are on the winning team—God’s team. Just as David defeated Goliath because he knew that God was on His side, we too can be victorious when we really understand Whose battle it is and Who is fighting for us. May we truly understand that with the Lord we are “more than conquerors.”

Over this span of forty-two hours that we had with these awesome college students, we saw the Spirit of God move in powerful ways. We saw worn out athletes revived spiritually. Students experienced the Lord in ways they hadn’t before in worship. Life-changing conversations were had between roommates during late night talks. Commitments were made during Huddle times to live more like Christ on a daily basis. Friendships were formed on the basis of their faith. Sins were confessed, and healing was brought through the Spirit of God. Renewed passion was sparked for being a light to their campus and their teams this semester. A passion to declare God’s worth was so stirred that students worshipped on their own in their hotel rooms singing with a guitar late into the night. Athletic teammates were united in one Spirit. We here at FCA-Metro KC simply provided an environment for God to do His thing, and He did. So we truly kicked the new year off right!