The end of October brings falling leaves, chilly temps, thoughts of Christmas, and the Passion4Christ Summit – an event where Christian singles gather for fun, fellowship and the challenging proclamation of God’s Word.  It was a blessing to welcome a record number of 96 registrants along with 22 staff to one of the best weeks one could have.

We thank the Lord for a volunteer staff who serves with Vision4Living to make it a blessed week for everyone.  Wonderful meals, housing, and a general atmosphere of joy are the result of God’s grace ministered to and through these dear friends in Christ.  That joy carried over to our two theme dinners: one, a Mexican Hacienda; the other an Oscar Gala from the past and a red carpet event; the first casual, the second formal, both a ton of fun.

Each day provided an abundance of opportunities for physical refreshment and exhaustion: hiking, zip line, volleyball, late night talking and playing cards, and plenty of good food.  The fellowship in Christ was encouraging, uplifting, and nourishing.

The week’s extracurricular activities culminated with Saturday evening and the annual campfire stories and volleyball tournament championship.  After laughing ourselves silly at the campfire, we headed to “the barn” for intensity of emotion and sound (how does 90 decibels sound to you?).  Cheerleaders lead the yells (I had to hold my ears) and the wave, linemen watched the ball, judges watched the net, and the match went down to the wire.  Green beat Blue 3 to 2.

As much fun as all of these things were, nothing could match the worship of God and the Word of God.  Our hearts were led to worship as we sang songs and hymns old and new with Biblical truth and powerful heart-felt expression.   The small ensemble of instruments blended with eth voices of God’s people, ascended to the throne, and enriched our souls with thoughts of worship that followed us home.  It was simple incredible.

We were all challenged to ask and answer the question of what it means to obey Christ’s command to go and make disciples.  The preaching of God’s Word was the central part of our week, while the community groups gave each one the opportunity to personally interact with what was heart.  Two breakout sessions (one for men and one for women) rounded out the hours of encouragement for our walk with Christ.  Such a time of encounter with God is not possible without the blessing of God and the ministry of His Holy Spirit, for which we give Him glory.

It is hard to believe it’s over.

The Lord willing, it will not be long before we go there for P4C13.  We hope to see you there.

In Christ,

Charles Cavanaugh

To see more photos, click here to view the full Passion4Christ2012 Slide show put together by our friends, Britton and Erica Felber of Photography by Britton, who graciously agreed to photograph the Summit.

You can also download full audio recordings of all of the sessions here.