A women’s retreat at Oklahoma Christian University aims to equip females to trust the Lord when situations seem unclear. The Student Government Association (SGA) on campus partnered with students to host the event Nov. 17–18, which is free to participants and features dinner, devotionals, service projects and other social activities.
Friday evening includes dinner at the home of President John and Darla deSteiguer, followed by roller skating at Skate Galaxy. Saturday morning begins with a service project at the Refuge in Oklahoma City, OK, and concludes with lunch and a devotional in the afternoon.
Senior and Event Host Lyndsy Chave said Jack Smith, the SGA chaplain, approached her about hosting the event because he thought she would handle the role well.
“Our theme is Faithful and we’re going to go through the book of Ruth in two days,” Chave said. “We’re going to go through and learn how to trust God in the times of uncertainty and how to remain faithful.”
Director of Children’s Ministry Program Barbara Price said she is glad the retreat’s content will come from the story of Ruth because it is representative of strong female leadership and ministry. She said this topic will inspire women to seek out female role-models in their day-to-day lives.
“I think it’s important to pull out in our Bible studies strong women of the Bible that we can model,” Price said. “That’s seldom taught. We hear about the strong heroes of the Bible—men—but we overlook the women a lot.”
According to Chave, the response from students and the number of individuals interested in attending the event was larger than she initially expected. She said they originally planned for 30 females, but ended up having almost 50 sign up.
The service project at the Refuge will focus on living life with a missional mindset. After listening to a speaker, women in attendance will pick up trash in surrounding neighborhoods.
Price said it is important for women to work together on projects, strengthen relationships and break down barriers between people. She said retreats and service projects make women more aware of opportunities they have in ministry.
“I think it’s great because we don’t have to go to another country to do service, and sometimes I think we teach that—maybe unintentionally,” Price said. “It seems like missions tend to be always somewhere else, but it’s also across the street. Going to the Refuge is amazing. I love that place.”
Chave said she would like to host the event again in the future because she will still be on campus next fall. She said she plans to teach another student how to run the event next year, so the retreat will continue even after she graduates.
“I’m most excited seeing it all come together because I’ve been planning it for three months,” Chave said. “I’m excited to see all things behind the scenes come forward and see the girls just enjoy it—even though it’s only two days—see their faces when they get the most out of it.”
Freshman Summer Neff said she enjoys participating in events on campus and thinks it is a good thing for Oklahoma Christian to host events specifically for women. She said it could help bond female students together and unify them in their beliefs.
“I like to try and keep improving my spiritual life and this seems like one of those events that would be really good for that,” Neff said. “I’m really excited that there’s going to be a bunch of women—lots of people that are similar—going to hear someone speak about something we all care about.”
Price said she hopes the women who choose to attend the retreat will recognize Ruth as an example of how to handle life during tough times. She said everyone has gone through difficult things in life, and women should learn to rely on one another for support.
“I would hope they’ll develop relationships where they can go and talk to each other honestly when they do need help,” Price said. “That would be my goal for this—developing that heart to where they can say, ‘I’m struggling in this area of my spiritual life. I need a buddy to help me keep accountable.’ That’s why I think having these retreats would be good.”
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