More Than a Trip

This summer, our students spent a week in Kansas City at the EFCA Challenge Conference, a week filled with worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and opportunities to grow in their faith.

But trips like Challenge are about more than getting away for a week. They are tools God uses to equip our students to know Christ more deeply, live out their faith, and share the Gospel with others.

Two of our students shared how experiences like Challenge have impacted their faith and continue to shape the way they live.

“For me, this was my third Challenge, and it’s so impactful every year. It’s hard to come back because the regular world and the environment at Challenge are so different. At Challenge, people are so loving. We’re all following Christ, praising, and spending time in fellowship—not just with our church or another church, but with people from all over Kansas City.

“When you get back, you have this ‘camp high,’ and then it wears off as you get used to the regular environment, where not everyone is praising, not everyone is loving each other, and not everyone is kind.

“But through outreach, we really get to touch other people’s lives and make a difference. That’s why Challenge has made such an impact on me. It reminds me that I can be the change in people that makes the regular world feel like Challenge, anytime and anywhere.

“I try to keep my ‘camp high’ and show it to others so it becomes less of a temporary thing and more of a way of living in the world.”

— Cole Robison

For Kaitlyn, being equipped through church conferences, classes, trips, and camps has given her practical ways to have meaningful conversations about the Gospel with the people around her.

“One of the biggest effects church conferences, classes, trips, and camps have had in my life is equipping me with ways to better talk to others about the Gospel and Christianity.

“Over the past couple of years, I’ve used direct lessons and analogies I wouldn’t have had without going to these things to give both nonbelieving and believing friends answers and insights that have helped them.

“I’ve talked with a friend about God’s will and how it works, and I was able to help her understand it better by using an analogy I learned in a class. Another time, I was talking with a friend about singing at church, which she called worship. It became clear that she thought singing was the only way to worship, and that realization upset her. I had known for a while that this wasn’t the case, but a message I had heard at a recent conference gave me direct examples and reasons I could use to help her better understand worship.

“These are just two examples of how being equipped has helped me help others better understand. It’s always amazing to be able to give what I’ve learned to others.”

— Kaitlyn Krohse

This is why we invest in opportunities like Challenge Conference. We want our students to experience the joy of following Christ together, but we also want them to leave equipped to carry that joy and truth into their everyday lives.

The goal isn’t just a meaningful week away. It’s a faith that comes home with them.