By Pastor Dan Schillero

For many students, the fall season is a mixed bag of emotions. They mourn the loss of the summer months, yet they feel the excitement of the coming school year. They feel the uncertainty of new classes and friends, but eventually settle into the routines of youth group, homework, fall sports, and everything in between. In all of the variety of feelings that fall represents for our students, we’ve found that one of the collective feelings among the group is excitement and anticipation for O’Frenzy. Every year, we take Junior and Senior High students to Camp Patmos on Kelleys Island for a weekend away. This fall retreat is a favorite among the students and this year we brought over 150 students and 40 adult leaders with us. 

On the morning of October 11th, dozens of students filed into the Warehouse with sleeping bags and backpacks. Students signed in at the registration table, parents hugged goodbye, and students greeted one another and speculated about who would win this year’s team competition. Soon enough, bags were loaded onto the truck, everybody had arrived, and we were ready to embark on O’Frenzy 2014.

From the Warehouse we hopped onto our buses and traveled to Sandusky, where we would take a ferry ride across the lake to Kelleys Island. High school students rejoiced as they were told that they would be taking the first ferry to the island. Junior High students grunted their disapproval as they were told they would have to wait for the next one. 

After narrowly avoiding a mutiny by the junior high students, we all safely arrived on Kelleys Island and took a short shuttle ride to camp. Camp Patmos has been host to our fall retreat for the past five years, and every year we grow to appreciate it more and more. The camp lies along the shoreline of the lake and provides everything that we need for a great retreat:  a large chapel to gather in, wide open space for games, a big pit for a bonfire, and a great cafeteria with awesome food. It was good to be back again for another year. As students unloaded their luggage into their cabins, the sun was shining, the lake was glistening, and the best trip of the year was finally in full swing. 

After everyone got lunch together in the cafeteria, we gathered in the chapel for our first meeting. The students were separated into teams and the rules of the team competitions for the weekend were explained. Menchies (a frozen yogurt paradise) and Starbucks gift cards were on the line. The stakes were high. Each team worked together to choose a team name and compose a corresponding cheer. It is here that we can be thankful for the unfailing creativity and humor of our students. Whether we are applauding the brilliance of one team’s name or laughing together about the poor execution of another team’s choreography, this portion of the trip always proves to be a highlight. 

The competitive spirit was palpable as the teams made their way out onto the ball fields for team competitions. Performing well as a team meant scoring points, and scoring points meant scoring gift cards, so our students were ready to compete. What ensued was a weekend full of games that involved tennis balls, an octopi toss, inner tubes, Play-Doh Pictionary, and relay races in refrigerator boxes. By the end of the trip, the red team “The Fire Hydrants” hoisted their trophy and rightfully claimed their hard-fought gift cards. 

Although we spent a lot of time laughing, running around, and being crazy at O’Frenzy, most students would agree that the highlight of the weekend was the time spent in the chapel on Saturday night. It was then that we had the privilege of worshipping together with our Senior High worship team as well as hearing from this year’s guest speaker. 

Our worship team, made-up of talented high school students as well as several of our adult leaders, used their gifts well as they led the songs. There aren’t many things that are more encouraging than seeing 150 students gathered together in a room, lifting their voices in praise to God. 

Our guest speaker was Kyle Higgins, a former pastoral intern at Parkside and current graduate student at The Ohio State University. Kyle opened up the Bible and spoke from the gospel of Luke, retelling accounts of men and women who had personal encounters with Jesus. Kyle shared his story with us and explained how he himself had encountered Jesus and made a passionate appeal to the students of why they must do the same. At O’Frenzy, our students were presented with a clear explanation of their need for a Savior and a picture of what God has done to provide a Savior for them through sending His Son, Jesus. 

How You Can Pray

Please pray that these trips will bear fruit for the gospel and that students will be saved as a result of God using that time that we spent together. It is never too soon for students to make the decision to follow Jesus and we pray every day that trips like O’Frenzy will be the means by which God chooses to open the eyes and hearts of our students.

To see photos from O'Frenzy 2014, visit our flickr page.