*** Each italicized quote is from a different individual responding to the question, “What does Revolution Weekend mean to you?”  Respondents include current students, alumni, and parents.

There are very few things like Revolution Weekend. I love getting to be part of everything we do, but Revolution Weekend is my favorite event, and maybe my favorite weekend of the year – nothing else we do is quite like it.

At its simplest, Revolution Weekend is an overnight retreat held at a camp just southwest of Fort Worth that includes time for big games, small group conversations, worship with a guest speaker and time to just be together; but, if you dig a little deeper, there’s so much more to it than that. Just ask anyone who has been a part of it – there is something special about that last weekend of January at Glen Lake.

“Even though you’re moving a million miles an hour, the rest of the world seems to stop for you to have this weekend. It’s full of laughter, tears, smiles, deep talks and a sense of calm.”

“Revolution Weekend is always a chance to re-ground myself. Sometimes my ‘breaks’ don’t really feel like breaks, so I always end up feeling burnt out and missing friends – so getting to go away for a weekend and just enjoy that time is always something I really love and cherish.”

We could all use a break: time to disconnect from just trying to keep up with our schedules and deadlines and expectations and time to reconnect with our people and ourselves. Think about it: when was the last time you had a weekend off that really felt refreshing, like you really got to relax and recharge; what were you doing – who were you with?

For many of us, the times we really feel like we get to actually rebuild some mental and emotional reserves are when we get to step away from our everyday lives and we are surrounded by people who love us, support us, care for us, show up for us no matter what. Revolution Weekend is not only a place where you can experience that – it’s a place you can find it.

“[Revolution Weekend] is a time of community building. It offers a time to create meaningful connections that truly last a lifetime.”

“I get to have a weekend with my friends where there’s no worries, we sing and play and run and sing more and it’s just where you get to be able to be together in that moment and present.”

It can be really hard to find places of meaningful connection, especially if you feel like you don’t already know anyone there or feel like someone on the outside looking in. It can be difficult to feel that sense of connection and relationships on Sunday mornings – we’re only together for an hour, there’s a lot happening and almost all of our time is structured, so creating space for an organic sense of belonging to form is challenging.

There has been a lot of research done on creating and maintaining healthy, authentic relationships, and almost all of the research points to one key factor: what you need more than anything else is time – time to get to know each other, to be together, to check in with each other, to create memories that form the foundation of new relationships and strengthen ones that already exist.

“Revolution Weekend is special to me because it’s a weekend away with a group of people that I love, and we just get to spend time together, taking a break [from everything at home].”

“Revolution Weekend is my favorite weekend of the whole [semester]; it means to me that I can come to a group of people that I do not feel judged by, I can be as open as I can possibly be, and I get to be with the people I love most.”

Revolution Weekend has the space, has the time, has just the right amount of structure and chaos to allow for new connections to form – now, what it needs is you.

Yes, YOU. It matters that you are part of Revolution Weekend. Each Revolution Weekend is different, feels different, because it is a different group of kids and adults. We graduate seniors, we add seventh graders, some people who couldn’t come last year are back and some people who have been there every year they could have something come up. But every person that is there brings something, adds something to that experience – and it wouldn’t be the same without you.

Students (and adults) make so many memories together – too many, in fact, to list all of them here in the middle of this article (keep an eye on our social media for those). But Revolution Weekend is not all fun and games – it is a deeply meaningful and impactful experience for students that can open up new parts of their faith and relationship with God.

“Revolution Weekend is the first place I really [experienced] God… I felt like I really connected to my faith for the first time.”

“The worship is always so meaningful. We’re all connected and worshipping together, and it feels like we’re all one body or one big family, it’s a crazy feeling.”

There are a thousand things that pull each one of us in a thousand different directions – we can’t do all of them, so we’re always put in a position where we have to choose one thing or another. Sometimes it feels like we’re stuck in a choice between two good things, or two important things. A lot of our programming runs into other things that are going on – tournaments, competitions, birthday parties, work schedules, etc. Most of the time, we encourage our people to go do the things they love doing, to be a part of the other things; and, when we can, we come be a part of them with you. But we believe that Revolution Weekend, more than any of our weekly program or our big events, is the event that is worth prioritizing.

Saying yes to Revolution Weekend is worth saying no to other things – other good, other important things. This is the thing you choose.

“Revolution Weekend was the trip that genuinely saved my life. After a really long weekend of hanging out, laughing and being told and truly feeling people cared about me and would be much worse off without me, I held on for a little longer. And now we’re here.”

Revolution Weekend has given new life to so many people. Revolution Weekend is the place so many of our students have found community, belonging, identity, faith, purpose and calling. It is one of our favorite things that we get to do – we hope it can be one of your family’s favorite things too.

Much love,

Matt Britt
Director of Youth Ministries
and the Youth Ministries team

 

Registration for Revolution Weekend 2025 can be found on our website. If you would like to see what Revolution Weekend actually looks like, watch our Revolution Weekend 2024 Recap video on YouTube.