I don’t know exactly why, but college students LOVE to stay at hotels. Maybe it’s because they are looking for any excuse to get out of their tiny dorm rooms. Maybe it’s because being at a hotel without their parents for the first time makes them feel more like adults. Whatever the reasons are, they were sufficient to bring a crowd of 120 Bethel and Northwestern students to the St. Cloud Holiday Inn for our Valentine’s Day Getaway last weekend.
The hotel provided plenty of activities and entertainment for all - three pools, two volleyball courts, basketball hoops, a hot tub, board games, and many more. We provided a speaker, our very own regional director Paul Poteat, who gave two thought-provoking talks to the students. Paul talked about the topic of personal change. Reminding us in the words of a Frozen song that “Everyone’s a Fixer Upper”, Paul talked about the painfulness of supernatural change (Change is traumatic), the nature of supernatural change (Change is inside out), and the source of supernatural change (Change is received from the Lord, through the gospel).
Another aim of the retreat was to hype up students about future opportunities to get involved with CO - namely our Spring Break trips and our Summer Training Project. It was especially fun for me to see a few younger Bethel students (where I minister) commit to them on the spot!
The retreat was just one night, but students still left with fun memories, helpful reflections from the talks, and for far too many, very little sleep.
Dan Grano
Campus Outreach Minneapolis
Bethel Campus Director