Closing-out Ohio

By Kevin Schroeder –

Closing-out Ohio… Until Next Year

In Ohio, at the Wilds in October, the leaves are morphing into a kaleidoscope of blazing reds, vibrant oranges and sunny yellows. This made for a beautiful landscape for the final Mighty Oaks Men Legacy Program of 2018 for this venue. Twelve warriors from across the nation converged onto the Wilds with a common purpose-to align their lives with the life God created them to live. This purpose is lined out in the very pages of Scripture, such as in Deuteronomy 6:4-5,

“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

This passage teaches us that God wants to have a love relationship with his creation. The Apostle Paul put it another way in Philippians 3:8,

“8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

These verses highlight the fact that there is incomparable value in having a relationship with Jesus Christ. During the week these warriors heard instructor testimonies that gave a glimpse of what this relationship can look like. Men that have been set free from issues such as addictions, anger issues, post traumatic stress, and suicidal ideations. Mighty Oaks staff locked arms with these warriors during breakout sessions to help identify and tackle some of these warriors most daunting issues in life. These warriors were given tools during periods of instruction such as developing a deliberate fight plan, how to pray, how to apply the Bible to everyday life, and how to develop soul level relationships with like-minded men.
Near the end of the week we celebrated the week’s victories by hearing the personal testimonies of these warriors detailing what life looked like prior to arriving, what they learned at the program, and what their plans were moving forward. At graduation these men were challenged to put the tools they learned to good use with only one option: to fight. Fight to be the men God cleated them to be, fight to for their marriages, fight to raise a healthy next generation, and fight to conquer all other things worth fighting for in their lives.