A Trinity Tradition

For most years since Trinity began, our men have had the great blessing to go on a yearly retreat. In the spring of each year, the men of our congregation head up to Greenwood Hills Bible Camp for a weekend of study, prayer, fellowship, and fun. We have a guest speaker -- usually an author, pastor, or Christian leader that prepares several sessions of lessons for us. These include in-depth studies of scripture, doctrinal issues, and other spiritual topics. The goal is encouragement and growth during a time of rest and relaxation.

Greenwood Hills Bible Camp is in Fayetteville, PA, not far from Gettysburg. Lodging is rustic but comfortable: single and shared rooms are available and priced accordingly. We normally begin on Thursday evening with an informal praise session. Our speaker hosts two sessions on Friday and two on Saturday. Between lessons, men participate in various outings in the local area: battlefield tours, bookstores, racquetball games, golfing, mountain biking, running, and more. Volunteers prepare breakfast, a light lunch, and dinner on Friday and Saturday. We depart early on Sunday morning to ensure that we return in time for the worship service at Trinity Presbyterian.

Below, you can see the highlights of each year's retreat -- in some cases, we have the audio of the lessons available for your reference. We hope that you can join us next year: stay tuned to our events page for information. We generally announce the date and registration information in the late fall or early winter each year.

  • Greenwood Hills Lodging
  • Worship session
  • At work in the kitchen
  • A session with Dr. Lanier
  • Breakfast promptly at 8
  • Taking in teaching
  • Cleaning up

2025

Speaker: Greg Lanier, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary

Topic: As it is Written: How the New Testament Authors Read the Old Testament

Summary: Dr. Lanier explained to us the importance of the Old Testament (OT) to the authors of the New Testament NT, as it was the only scripture available to them. He demonstrated how New Testament authors referenced the OT to shape their theology. Dr. Lanier provided a practical method for evaluating OT references in the NT over four lessons that covered the OT's relationship to the overall gospel, Christ, and the church.

2024

Speaker: Dr. Craig Troxel, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary, California

Topic: With All Your Heart: Knowing, Loving, Choosing, Keeping

Summary: Dr. Troxel taught us about the Biblical view of the human heart and what its authors meant when they used that word. By unpacking scripture, in particular Proverbs, we learned that the heart is the unity of our inner being and the governing center of a person. This includes knowledge, desire, and will -- what we know, love, and choose respectively. We studied how Christ's threefold office of prophet, priest, and king brings our heart into alignment with God's through sanctification.

2023

Speaker: Colonel Art Athens, Former Director of the US Naval Academy's Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership

Topic: Leading with a Basin and Towel: Christian Leadership

Summary: Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, He taught His disciples about leadership and followership by His words and example. During Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, He provided a particularly vivid picture of authentic leadership when He began to perform one of the most menial and subservient tasks of the day . . . washing another’s feet. When He finished washing their feet, Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:15). What are we to learn from Jesus’ action and His follow-on admonition to His disciples . . . and how should His example impact our leadership in the home, the workplace, the church and the community? Col. Athens helped us recognize the importance of prayer and humility as the bedrock of Christian leadership.

2022

Speaker: Brad Finkbeiner, teacher and author

Topic: Developing a Biblical worldview on Race, Gender, and Sexuality

Summary: Brad provided guidance on how Christians can understand and navigate the many social issues that our world presents us, exploring the worldview that undergirds the arguments used by many of our secular contemporaries.

2020

Speaker: Dr. T. David Gordon - Professor (retired), author, pastor

Topic: Christian Discipleship in a Media-Saturated Culture

Summary: A very brief historical survey of media themselves (and of their analysts) while also providing a theological basis for understanding them (Imago Dei, Incarnation, "the foolishness of preaching," Christians as "the people of the book," and Second Commandment, among other things) before moving to some practical counsel about navigating the digitized world. Throughout, we ask: how can we be in our particular culture moment without being of our cultural moment?

2019

Speaker: Rev. Max Benfer

Topic: Awaiting the King: Being a Disruptive Witness in a Distracted Age

Summary: A very brief historical survey of media themselves (and of their analysts) while also providing a theological basis for understanding them (Imago Dei, Incarnation, "the foolishness of preaching," Christians as "the people of the book," and Second Commandment, among other things) before moving to some practical counsel about navigating the digitized world. Throughout, we ask: how can we be in our particular culture moment without being of our cultural moment?

2018

Speaker: Bradley Finkbeiner, teacher and author

Topic: Anchored - Recovering Christian Certainty in an Age of Doubt

Summary: Brad taught on how Christians can have certainty in their beliefs, exploring the nature of authority, how Christians have engaged historically and recently with secular skeptics, and the nature of doubt. Having examined those principles, Brad showed us how we can be more secure in our own beliefs as well as more successfully engage with unbelievers.

2017

Speaker: Rev. Max Benfer

Topic: Pilgrim Theology: Living in Light of Eternity

Summary: A Biblical perspective of living contemporaneously in the chaos of today's broken world, all the while as the commissioned ambassadors of an eternal, and also contemporaneous kingdom.

2016

Speaker: Brad Finkbeiner, teacher and author

Topic: We Band of Brothers - Jesus' Farewell Discourse to His Disciples

Summary: A study of Christ's final words of comfort and instruction to His disciples -- how do these words affect and motivate us today? How can we apply them to our daily walk as well as our Christian worldview?