UNIQUENESS OF SERVICE

Many camps and retreats focus either on youth or on adults, but very few focus on both together.  Some youth camps add a “family week” in their schedule, but that week can include hundreds of people.  Families attending a Clear View Retreat would be attending as a family with only four or five other families with whom they are, ideally, already acquainted.  The purpose of this is to build intimacy and accountability within the Christian community as well as to share real-life experiences within a safe environment.  Struggling families need time away to regroup and refocus on true priorities.  By learning God’s ways of relating in a positive small-group environment, individuals can contribute more to their families and communities.

Why small groups?

Our society has become accustomed to living beside each other but never truly knowing each other.  Building intimacy and accountability among believers so that they can face the difficulties of this world—financial struggles, addictions, busy-ness, work, corruption, gossip, daily activities, and so much more—is the goal of CVR.

To achieve our God-given potential in times of triumph or trial, in both the ‘norms’ and ‘storms’ of life, we must live life in a focused, centered way.  We must be resolute, we must be determined, and we must be supported because there will be times when we forget our resolve, we lose our determination, and we withdraw from the stability of others.  When that happens, our intimate and accountable partners in this life will step in and step up, helping us to get back on track and remember the reason God has placed where we are and what we are to do.

Why family-focused instead of youth, men, or women?

Families are struggling; they are crumbling in the pressure of daily living, and when a major event comes along, they are often not capable of pulling out of the depressions, the mood swings, the financial restraints, etc, without severe repercussions.  By bringing families away TOGETHER, we can help to put everyone “on the same page” of the family’s story while also giving them coping strategies to deal with various hurts and frustrations that plague them.