The last two days the pastors and Christian leaders of the Pastoral Network of Bergen have been together to fellowship and seek the Lord. It has been a retreat to advance the Kingdom of God in our city and in our nation.

We had a very good time of fellowship at wonderful meals and during times of prayer and discussion. The highlight for me was the lunch and the following time with the youth leaders from many different churches in the city. I was blessed and encouraged by the integrity and quality of these young leaders. They have been meeting together for a few years for prayer and friendship. Clearly they had developed a good relationship, and clearly they had a heart for God and his people. The hand of God is resting upon them and he has given them great wisdom and spiritual insight. Certainly they represent a bright future for the people of God in our city.

Retreat to advance is more than a nice headline for this post. It is actually a summary of my situation and the situation of many leaders in these days. We need to retreat to be with the Lord to be able to advance in the things of God. Even the young leaders had chosen that approach in their work for the Lord. Spending time with the Lord and with fellow servants of God is a prerequisite to be fruitful in our service for God and his people.