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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fitzhugh Baptist Men: Explore and expound as they refocus and refresh the vision of the Church at Alto FrioLeakey, TX02/28/05 -- Fitzhugh’s first annual Men’s retreat was held at Alto Frio Baptist Encampment in Leakey, Texas. 18 men joined the Pastor, Brother John, for a time of inspiration, fun and fellowship. The retreat kicked off with the weekly Men’s prayer breakfast at 6:30am on Friday. After joining together for prayer and the morning’s excellent spread the men loaded up to travel to Leakey. The trip was full of bumpy travails and splendid scenery allowing all to marvel in God’s creation on the way deeper into South Texas. We saw many wild and captive wildlife, including deer, goats, pronghorns and other animals along the way. The trip began with a relaxing afternoon and a great lunch at Mama Choles Mexican Café. The food was great and the table and spread was ready when we arrived. Upon arriving in Leakey, there was an afternoon of relaxation, fishing, hiking, pool and basketball to be enjoyed. 6 of the guys headed to Los Maples State Park and 4 completed the nearly 5 mile trip around the West Trail, up the winding hills through God’s majestic creation and back out again. Our Pastor and Steve May had enough wind at the end to finish the hike with a mile and half jog at the end to bring us back for our evening session and dinner! Back at the Alto Frio, Johnny Preslar cleaned up with perch and small bass as he brought the right tools for the job, a light fishing pole and a light line test to reel in those fun small fish. The rest of the crew didn’t have as much luck, but enjoyed it never the less. Ken gave schooling to our new Youth Minister, Steve Howe, and Tres Whites at basketball; having them winded in the end. The evening session began with an overview of the weekend’s events and schedule. Brother John opened and brought home the importance and vitality of Worship. We had our sealed orders for the trip down and most of the men had finished the bible study before the first session. We were inspired by the study and discussion, then prepared for the rest of the evening’s activities. The follow-up session focused on Worship, then we had a quick overview of the 5 Purposes of the Church preparing for the “Why bother with a Purpose Statement?” presentation. During this session we explored the reasons for having a purpose mission statement for our church and discussed how we were doing as a church in the areas listed in Fitzhugh’s current purpose statement. The group was very excited by the conversation and God’s leading throughout the evening. We went an hour over our scheduled time before closing for the evening. Almost every one shared some great insights and Godly feedback as we closed in prayer for one another and our Pastor. Day 2 opened with excitement and Brother John covered the 5 purposes and completed his opening day discussion on Worship. The day progressed and we recessed to lunch; it was superb. We followed up in the afternoon session and completed the steps of creative brainstorming to come to a unified purpose statement. As the session progressed each of people answered 4 questions on the New Testament purpose of a Church, and the group came up with this: “Through God’s Word the mission of Fitzhugh Baptist Church is to bring people to Jesus, develop them to a Christlike maturity, and empower them for their ministry in the Church and life mission in the world in order to magnify God’s name”. The unanimity that was gathered in this process was exciting and refreshing. The weekend ended up with a recognition that much was still left to complete, including bringing the entire Church together through these steps; re-igniting our Purpose and implementing ministries that effectively target and take into account the large scale growth that has and is coming in the very near future to our area. On the way home we stopped in Fredericksburg for some great eating featuring fine catfish. This weekend won’t soon be forgotten and was a moment of reflection and renewed vision for each life that went and for Fitzhugh Baptist Church. For More Information Contact: |
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