Tripp Morgan, Reporter
Spiritual Emphasis Week is the time at TCA where the students disregard their anxieties and worries, and instead, focus solely on God and what he is doing in their lives. The high school students end off their week by leaving TCA on the Thursday of Spiritual Emphasis Week to go on a two-day retreat, called the Unity Retreat. The high school students this year, 2026, arrived at the camp with competitive spirits, open hearts for God and open arms for their classmates.
The highschoolers were split up into fourteen predetermined groups based on colors called districts (and one called “the Capital”) to participate in creative and entertaining games. Each group played four unique games, then met up in the sanctuary to receive the rules for the final “Hunger Games” style game. The students were forced into an “every group for themselves” style game. Every team would split in two, with one half solving puzzles, while the other half completed various challenges to score points and to create a bingo on previously handed out bingo cards, completed by the puzzles and challenges. The groups competed until the time limit, but only two groups survived until the finale, a head-to-head dodgeball game. The winner in the end was the Blue team, District Six. Congratulations Blue team!
Unity Retreat was not only just playing games for the students, but also, a time to get to know God, their classmates and themselves better. The TCA highschoolers participated in group worship and breakout sessions with their gender-grade groups to answer any lingering questions. The leader of the senior’s breakout session, Mr. Philips, described his average breakout session. “We tried to go off the sheet,” He reminisced. “But we found ourselves (going somewhere else) with it.” The seniors would ask Phillips questions which would steer the conversation. The point Phillips drove home the most for the seniors, was for them to be leaders. “Not taking that leadership role for granted,” He said. TCA needs strong role-models for the younger students, and the seniors fulfill that need.
Two students in particular, felt spiritually touched to lead a Bible study for the camp. Pearson Kuykendall announced during one of the group worship sessions that he and a fellow junior, Lucas Smith, would be hosting a Bible study the next morning. “I felt like everybody had really [come] together as a group.” Kuykendall and Smith had been hosting an annual Bible study at camp since 2024, their freshman year. The Bible study grew the following year, with the 2026 Bible study being their most populated one yet. “I just felt led by the Spirit to [lead the Bible study]. The Bible study went well and showed the students’ commitment to the Lord even after the heart-touching group worship session on Thursday night.
The 2026 Unity Retreat was another successful outing for the TCA students. The high school body, as a whole, felt the presence of God and changed their lives to better reflect his image. From laughter during the games, to crying during the worship sessions, and the deep conversations during the breakout sessions, the 2026 Unity Retreat will be remembered by every student and staff member who attended it.
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