LIFT 2025
Coram Deo Students
LIFT 2025
February 14–16, 2025
Event Information
Who:
Junior High & High School Students (6th–12th Grade)
What:
LIFT is an overnight weekend retreat without leaving town! This is a weekend for students to get away from the busyness of life to have fun, be challenged, connect with others, and deepen their relationship with Jesus.
When:
Friday, February 14 – Sunday, February 16, 2025
Where:
Coram Deo Bible Church
Shirts:
Shirt quantities are limited. Students must register by January 22 to receive their requested shirt size.
Meet the Speaker
Brooks Buser
President, Radius International
Brooks and his wife, Nina, met at San Diego Christian College and upon graduation they married. Brooks worked in the field of accounting and eventually as a CFO of a Dutch multinational. Through their time in the Word, and with the blessing of their local church, they eventually felt led to church planting among an unreached people group. In 2003, after 2 years of training, they, along with their 3-year-old son, left for the country of Papua New Guinea and lived among the Yembiyembi people. By God’s grace, they became fluent in the language of the Yembiyembi, developed an alphabet, taught the Yembiyembi to read and write in their own language, translated the Scriptures, and saw the Yembiyembi church born and brought to maturity. In 2016, they returned to the U.S. where Brooks now serves as the President of Radius International and Nina is the Hospitality Coordinator. Brooks recently received an honorary Doctorate in Linguistics and Bible Translation from San Diego Christian College.
Registration Information
Cost: $75 per student
Registration Opens: December 18, 2024
Registration Ends: February 2, 2025
Cost includes meals, activities, shirt, and more.
We do not pro-rate. Refunds are not available.
Interested in Volunteering at LIFT?
Adults, are you interested in volunteering during LIFT weekend as a Check-in Volunteer, Host Home, Meal/Snack Provider, or Transportation? Click the button below to complete our volunteer sign-up! Descriptions of each role are provided below. Volunteer assignments will be sent out on February 3.
Host Homes
This is a core need for LIFT weekend! As events occur at the church all weekend, Host Homes are where student small groups will spend the night on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Host Home volunteers open up their homes to one of our Junior High or High School small groups and give them a place to sleep and simply be together. This is typically done "slumber party" style, as students bring their own bedding and pillows. Host Homes typically have a larger room where the group can spend the night together talking, laughing, and of course – sleeping. Every small group consists of at least 1 adult leader, and anywhere from 5–15 students (groups vary in size). Many leaders host their own small group, which we try to give priority to. Some parents may also desire to host their own student's group. There is no need for the Host Homes to "entertain" the small group, though they may interact with the group, if desired and if appropriate.
Meal Providers
These volunteers are tasked with bringing light meals, snacks, and/or breakfast foods to an assigned Host Home/small group for LIFT weekend. We typically try to have anywhere from 1–3 meal providers per group, depending on the group size. Once we finalize our list of potential host homes and meal providers, you will be notified as to which small group/host home you will be working with on LIFT weekend (as well as other meal providers, if applicable). From there, you can work with your assigned Host Home or small group leaders to decide on the best way to deliver the food to the students. We have seen Meal Providers drop off food at the Host Home the day before, some prefer to drop it off the day of, while others drop it off with the Student Ministry staff at the church and the Host Home or small group leader picks it up themselves. All options are open to help make this position seamless and smooth. Over-communication is key!
Transportation
Though we try to have 2 leaders with every Junior High or High School small group during the overnight portion, there are some groups who only have 1 adult leader who is available to attend LIFT. On other occasions, some small groups may have 2 adult leaders, but also have almost 20 students! While that is certainly a blessing, that does also create an issue when our leaders try to transport their students between the church and their assigned Host Home, and their cars don't have enough space. That said, our transportation volunteers are adults in the church who simply offer to drive and serve as a shuttle for a small group who may need some extra vehicle seats. You would be assigned to only one small group for the entire weekend and would be working alongside the small group leader(s) to ensure students are safely transported Friday night, Saturday morning and night, and Sunday morning.