The Lodge tends to be a divine contradiction—full of holy and heavenly time, yet completely void of things we typically think make events “special.” It is truly an experience of the simple gospel.
During the first weekend in October 2020, The Lodge young adult retreat celebrated its 5th anniversary. For five years, this event has epitomized everything we could ever hope for ministry to be—a true moment of heaven touching earth. For five years, this weekend has been a retreat in every sense of the word, prioritizing physical, emotional and spiritual renewal. For five years, the Lodge has been our Mount Sinai experience, where we all go to see God face-to-face in order to come down and share this good and beautiful God with our communities.
The Lodge gets its name from our favorite and most frequently used venue: Coteau des Prairies Lodge, located near Havana, North Dakota. It is a giant, single structure with the capacity to house 65 young people in the middle of nowhere.
The weekend is modeled after the community of worship found in Acts chapter 2, where the disciples gather together to feast, celebrate, pray, serve and share life together. We experience not just a surface level community, but the deep, intimate, vulnerable community that brings us to acknowledge who we are and what we were made for; where there is space to weep, mourn, confess, laugh and ultimately return to God. It is an opportunity for strangers to become family and family to become the church that Jesus intended, where no one has any need because each person is found complete in Christ.
The Lodge has always been intended to be for Dakota young adults, but it has also hosted a variety of young adults from across our union and division. We have witnessed young people flock from different regions of the country because they have heard about, and mostly have yearned for, the experience that happens there. Every year we see more and more young adults from different places come to find what and who they have been craving their whole lives: the body of Christ on earth and the Holy Spirit that sets it ablaze.
The Lodge 2021 will be held Oct. 15-17. If you are a young adult who desires a community like, come and see. Come hang out. Come find new friends. Come and meet your Maker. Or simply bring this type of event to life in your community, where young adults like you and me are desperately desiring an authentic and genuine experience with the Divine. You will not regret it.
