2026 Retreat

April 17-19, 2026

Prodigals, The Hidden Truth – Mary York

Our 2026 Women’s Retreat speaker was Mary York. Mary and her husband, Scott, have been married for 47 years. Five years into their marriage they surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. In 1985 they joined Bonita OPC in Bonita, CA, and have been members there ever since. All seven of their children were raised through high school attending the Bonita OPC. Mary served in leadership positions in both the women’s ministries at church and in the homeschool community they were a part of for twenty-six years.

Mary spoke on the topic of Prodigals. Of her seven children, four of them walked away from the faith and embraced the world leaving a trail of indescribable grief, immense turmoil, and uncertainty about future relationships. The emotional and spiritual struggle that followed over the last decade while searching for truth and answers resulted in a new understanding of God’s perfect plan. We all have prodigals in our lives. How is that reality a part of God’s perfect plan for us, and how do we respond to it?

1) The Prodigal God

2) Prodigal Children

3) The Painful Path of a Prodigal

4) God’s Unwavering Love for Us

Morning Devotions were led by Michelle Gregg.

Renewing Your Mind
Taking Your Thoughts Captive

Camp Maranatha in Idyllwild, California

2025 Retreat

April 4-6, 2025

Battling the Joy Stealers – Lisa Howard

Our 2025 Women’s Retreat speaker was Lisa Howard, a retired nurse and a member of Harvest OPC in San Marcos where she serves as a Sunday school teacher and Women’s Bible study leader. She has been an OPC Women’s Retreat participant for many years and was the MC for over 10 years. Her passion is being a life-long student of God’s Word with the goal of always learning and growing in Gospel joy. The topic she spoke on was “Battling the Joy Stealers.” Lisa brought us 4 messages from the book of Philippians where she looked at four joystealers and four weapons to combat each.

1) Circumstances and Single Mindedness

2) People and the Submissive Mind

3) Things and the Spiritual Mind

4) Worry and the Secure Mind

Morning devotions were led by Carol Troxel.

2022 Retreat

Grace Gets More Amazing, Valerie Shephard

Our speaker was Valerie Shephard, daughter of Elisabeth Elliott. The topic she spoke on is “Grace Gets More Amazing.” Valerie brought us 3 messages over the weekend with a 4th session of questions and answers. The topics of her talks were: 1) Memories of Ecuador, 2) From Legalism to Grace: My Story, 3) Parenting with Grace.