Let's Celebrate

Why Should You Come to Celebration 2022?

We could give you a long list of reasons about why you should come to Celebration. Instead of hearing it from us, we want you to hear what the church has to say. That said, you’ll find the Sohie’s testimony below. If you’re on the fence, take a moment and read it. It’s more than a simple retreat. It’s meant to change your heart, encourage your soul, and make friends. It all starts September 30th through October 2nd in Idyllwild, CA. Details and registration below. Contact Melissa with any questions.

DYLAN: When we first learned about Celebration CA last year, we were so excited. We couldn’t wait to experience this with our then 1 year old daughter and our church family.

But excitement was met with challenges. We almost didn’t go last year. Christy was pregnant with our second baby and due in less than a month, and we were planning on a homebirth. It was busy season for me at work, meaning I would kind of have to go AWOL and make up my hours earlier in the week. COVID was still a big concern. Let’s just say the prep and planning for this event made it feel less like a “retreat” and more like another thing. 

But we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to learn and fellowship with our Church family. We aren’t big risk takers, but here we decided to trust the Lord, and we are so glad we did. So I took a day off, we packed up our car with homebirth supplies, researched some hospitals along the route, and believed in the Lord’s provision.

Not only was the teaching at Celebration filled with encouraging and timely reminders and exhortations from the Book of Jonah that continue to spur us on to trust in the Lord through all circumstances today, but gathering with the California Sovereign Grace churches felt like a huge family reunion as we rejoiced in worship and fellowship together.

CHRISTY: One of the biggest challenges was being away from home with a toddler. If you’re a parent to young kids or have been a parent to young kids, you know how much they benefit from routines. Traveling to a new location where everything was different made it so our toddler desired a bit more care and snuggles than normal. We anticipated this going into the weekend and planned accordingly. We brought snacks (because toddlers never refuse those, right?), our baby carrier, and the expectation that if things didn’t go as planned or we only heard bits and pieces of the sessions, we’d trust that those were the bits the Lord wanted us to hear and our time with God’s people would still be a blessing. And you know what? We used all three of these things and our time at Celebration was 100% a blessing. A year later, the bits and pieces of the sessions that did stand out to us are still truths that our hearts are able to meditate on and our time with our church friends left us refreshed and eager to spread the Good News to our community all the more.

DYLAN: So, in summary, the air is thin, the mattresses are thinner, your kids will be cranky, but at least the food is bad! And you should do everything you can to go. In-n-out and a comfortable bed will be there when you get back, but this really is a unique opportunity to make memories, build relationally, and be built up yourself. You may feel uncomfortable, but you will go down the mountain with a happy soul. So come!