Reflections on Impact 2026

Something truly special happens when we bring youth together from diverse backgrounds, each with their own unique stories, to worship Jesus alongside their peers. Year after year, I hear from young people who often feel isolated and alone in their faith. Being surrounded by other youth who are also learning to follow Jesus is a profound encouragement to them. We have been working hard as Youth Pastors to ensure our youth are connecting with one another and realizing they are part of something much bigger. They aren’t alone in their faith—they are part of a youth group, which is part of a local church, which is connected to churches across BC, Canada, and around the world, an Anabaptist Jesus movement.

Our guest speaker, Sarah Tully (Youth Pastor at Artisan Church), led us through four engaging sessions exploring the theme, "Ordinary life in a digital age." We dove deep into how Jesus offers us a rich, abundant life, even in a world dominated by screens.

We were challenged to consider how our lives are shaped by rituals—the little habits we develop, intentionally or unintentionally, that create the rhythm of our days. Think about your own day: Where do you see patterns of behaviour you can’t imagine living without? Where do you desire better habits, or wonder where your time went? At Impact, we looked closely at how we set up our lives, how we organize our time. Where are we creating space to notice God’s presence? Are we constantly distracted by technology, new trends, and our online appearance? How do we find space to truly see our neighbours and be present offline, while also bringing out the best in our online communities?

These questions guided us as we learned what it would look like to be people who are intentional about our everyday, ordinary lives—keeping our attention fixed on God and ensuring our habits reflect what matters most to us.

Chatting with my youth after the weekend, they shared hilarious stories about the night games, the best pranks, and those late-night cabin chats when they should have been sleeping—talking about everything from God and faith to their celebrity crushes. What stuck with me most was how they kept returning to the connections and friendships they made during the weekend. They shared how the encountered Jesus through the

worship and how they were thinking of ways to integrate what they were learning in their every day lives moving forward.

These youth are actively discovering who they are and who they want to become. As they form their identities, we—the church—have a pivotal role to play in providing the community, guidance, and discipleship they need. At Impact, strangers became friends and a beautiful community is formed. Memories are made, and I truly believe God is at work in the lives of MCBC youth in a powerful way. I already can’t wait to get back to Camp Squeah for Impact 2027!

Planning and facilitating a retreat like this is a massive team effort. I want to extend a huge thank you to all the youth leaders, pastors, and Camp Squeah staff who poured their hearts into making Impact happen. From planning field and night games, to leading the worship team, coordinating registration, speaking, and MCing—a lot goes on behind the scenes. Thank you for making this weekend such a highlight for our MCBC youth, and such an impactful weekend for so many (and yes, the pun is absolutely intended!).

Blessings,

Josh Willms MCBC Youth Director