What God Did Through THE Retreat at OSU

THE Retreat is a completely student-led, 3-day, 2-night retreat for incoming

freshmen at OSU, hosted by The Oaks Collaborative alongside ministries across campus (including Revive College Church, H2O, Chi Alpha, Salt, IFI, Pivot Hub, Every Nation, and Carmen House). Its sole purpose is to help students find their people, place, and purpose, and plug them into a gospel-centered community even before they step on campus. THE Retreat's name is drawn from John 14:6, and our hope is that students would come to know that Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life.

This year's retreat took place August 7-9 at H2O Church on Neil Avenue, just a five-minute drive from campus. About 20+ OSU students from different campus churches and fellowships served as leadership, counselors, and background helpers.

One highlight was our ministry fair, where the freshman had a chance to connect with all the ministries involved. It was cool to see those connections start to form right there on the spot.

By the end of the retreat, students' faces were glowing with excitement for the coming semester. It was a sweet picture watching them exchange contact info with staff, sad to say goodbye. There is honestly so much to share, but we wanted to give you a few highlights.

There was one salvation decision, praise the Lord! Here was their response:

“I feel like I was stagnant in my faith before this retreat. But it really showed me where I ought to be from the great examples of the older students here. They truly live out their faith, and I’m super excited to have them as friends going into college. I now know that I need to be more active in my faith, but also to ask God for more help.”

Another student, who came into THE Retreat jaded about church, shared this:

"I am not sure what I want to do with my life right now, events happened this year that made me distrust and get mad at God but by being in this community it has encouraged me to try again with support to genuinely have a relationship with Him and feel Him."

As a campus minister myself, it has been neat to see many of the freshmen who attended already plugged into ministries at OSU and eager to get involved.

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who prepared talks, participated in the panel, shared about their ministry, helped us spread the word, and donated to our cause. We couldn't have done it without the church body. A special thanks to For Columbus for helping sponsor scholarships for incoming students!

To learn more about THE Retreat or get connected with us, please visit our website, follow us on Instagram, or reach out via email to justin@oakscolab.com or kailey@oakscolab.com.