Ilana Lobbezoo
Missions Mobilizer and Youth Catalyst
Deeper Life Summit 2026
On the evening of April 17, 2026 the buses, vans and cars from 19 Central District churches arrived and unloaded their passengers and luggage at Muskoka Woods camp anticipating another high school retreat weekend filled with worship, teaching and fun. Though we were experiencing an unexpected regional power outage, our plans to gather were not hampered and the excitement was palpable as 337 students and 89 adult leaders began to fill the dimly lit Hangar at 9 pm. The camp and Hangar tech staff worked quickly to ensure we were able to begin the weekend well with our first worship and speaker session.
Saturday morning dawned with daylight and electricity, making it easier to carry on with the many plans for the day which included morning and evening worship sessions, 2 blocks of break out sessions, free activity time and a wide game to burn off the roast beef dinner the camp staff served us for supper.
Over 4 main sessions Jose Castro encouraged and challenged us be intentional about building the foundation of our lives on Jesus, so that when we face the trials and storms of life we can stand secure through the power of the Holy Spirit and not in our own strength. The worship band, led by Michelle Jones-Sood from Bramalea Alliance Church, gave us opportunity to respond to God's Word and presence. Speaking of response, how moving it was to witness so many making their way to the front on Saturday evening at Jose's invitation to make a fresh commitment to Jesus.
Worship was great, even with no power on Friday night! Great speaker & message! [My students] found Saturday night's message super powerful! - Christina Barry, Bancroft Drive Alliance, Sudbury
We are grateful for all who attended and for those church groups that decided to join this annual retreat for the first time. We were also blessed by so many who volunteered and gave of their time and energy to support this weekend experience. Months in advance a small committee began to plan and prepare, and we appreciate these pastors who offer their time: Nathan Martin, Shawn Greenwood, and Toan Vo. Nick Kennedy once again so skillfully guided us through the main sessions as our MC. Thanks to pastors and International Workers from around the district and beyond we were able to offer the most break out sessions ever. Students and their leaders chose 2 of the 9 excellent teaching sessions to attend on a variety of topics from faitfully weathering the storms of life, to sharing your faith near and far, to understanding how to discern God's call in ministry, and more. A big shout out is warranted for those break out session teachers: Samroon Arthur, Josiah Bokma, Graham Buchanan, Shawn Greenwood, Alexandra Khosravi, Nathan Martin, Dan & Jenica, Toan Vo, and Andrew Wood. Dan Martin also led an excellent and thought-provoking session for the leaders to begin discussing how to lean into discipling youth in intentional ways. Abby Malott from Tillsonburg gave this feedback:
[This session material] was an amazing conversation starter for our van ride home.
If you have yet to join us at one of these annual youth retreats, we invite you to put the next event on your ministry calendar now.
My kids had an absolute blast and are already excited for next year's summit. - Noah
Graeme Gibson, Pastor of High School & Young Adult Ministries, Redwood Park Alliance Church, made the long trek all the way from Thunder Bay for the first time and offered these encouraging words:
The kids had a ton of fun, and have likewise already been talking about next year.
Special thanks to Yeonjun Kim and MJ Ko, Videographers Alliance National Ministry Centre, for creating this video content.
