Shared by Rachael McNeal, Associate Pastor for Youth Ministry and Outreach:

“Our high school youth attended the Montreat Youth Conference on July 9-15 (along with nearly 700 other youth!) to listen to keynote, worship, dance, play, make meaningful connections and breathe in the mountain air.

The theme this year was “In Joy.”  We spent the week meditating on Christ’s joy.

In our keynote with Reverend Anne Russ, we learned 5 main things:

1. God’s joy is in you

2. Joy is a defiant act

3. Joy is a choice you make every day

4. Joy is a group effort

5. Your joy matters

Our high schoolers participated in small groups each day with youth from across the country and enjoyed a lot of fun activities like a foam party, dance party, and hiking.  God’s joy was abundant throughout the week.  

We returned home with a renewed sense of what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ.”