The Oklahoma Baptists’ annual Men’s Retreat at Falls Creek is set for April 25-26 at Falls Creek in Davis.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Men’s Retreat, celebrating a quarter-century of restorations, transformations, professions of faith, accountability, maturity and brotherhood.
Bartholomew “Prophet” Bailey, who serves with Oklahoma Baptists as Men’s Ministry Partner and leads the event, encouraged men across the state to take part in the event.
“Join us as we give thanks to God for what He has done and trust Him for what He will continue to do,” said Bailey.
Speaking to the event theme, he said, “As men, we often hear the call to ‘Man Up’ as a way to promote toughness, masculinity, grit and perseverance. While there are times when this attitude is necessary. This year our theme is ‘Man Down,’ which serves as a reminder that men sometimes need help. Life can throw unexpected challenges our way, and the consequences of our actions can weigh heavily on us.”
Bailey added, “The question is: will we have brothers to lean on when those moments arrive? ‘Man Down’ signifies a call for assistance. To cultivate true brotherhood, we must embrace vulnerability, accountability and responsibility.”
Inspired by the theme verse of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Life is better with partners,” and for the retreat’s purpose, saying, “Life is better with brothers.”
Matt Roberson, a Men’s Retreat staple, will lead worship. The popular “Man Talk” moments are set in our general sessions. Tarvoris Uzoigwe, the Evangelism Director for Oklahoma Baptists, also known as Coach Tee, will present Friday night’s Man Talk. On Saturday morning, Sam Porter, the founding Men’s Retreat Director, will share a Man Talk.
Friday night, then main session speaker will be Josh Smith, son of renowned Oklahoma Baptist pastor Bailey Smith, and author of “The Titus Ten: Foundations for Godly Manhood.” His book is a product of taking hundreds of men at his church through the book of Titus—ten men at a time for ten weeks. On Saturday, Keith Burkhart, the former director of the Oklahoma Baptists Men’s Ministry, will be the main session speaker.
The annual offering that is taken up during the retreat will help churches establish a Celebrate Recovery program, which is designed to assist men and women to overcome addiction through Christ.
There will be six breakout sessions on Friday and one session on Saturday.
On Friday, Bubba Burcham, a former Men’s Ministry Partner, will lead a breakout session on “Developing Godly Habits.” Additionally, there will be the following breakout sessions: Andy Taylor on “Discipleship Strategies,” Vern Charette on “Abstaining from Alcohol,” Lawrence Kirk on “Strategies for Studying the Bible,” Brian Camp on “Men and Mental Health” and Matt Holland on “Scripture Memory.” On Saturday morning, Kenny Mossman will lead a breakout session on “Leading and Pastoring Men.”
“We are just as excited about these breakouts as we are about any other aspect of the event,” said Bailey.
In addition to the Bible teaching, there will be games, activities and competitions for everyone—from video games to board games, from the classic Dodgeball to corn hole tournament to the new two-on-two pickleball tournament.
For more information, or to register your church group, visit oklahomabaptists.org/men/retreat.
