A Year for the Books at Snowshoe
What a season.
It’s honestly wild sitting down to write this and realizing the 2026 ski season in the Mid-Atlantic has officially wrapped. And we got to close it out the best way we know how—with our annual Snowshoe retreat.
And yeah… this one was truly one for the books.
To be honest, heading into the weekend there were probably more nerves and unknowns than ever before. But as usual, that just made more room for God to show off in ways only He can.
A few days before the trip, Pete reached out and said,
“Hey, at this point we have 37 passes available. Keep praying.”
Now, just for context—we had over 90 people coming, spread across six cabins, all planning to ride for two full days.
You don’t need to be a math expert to know that 37 was not exactly close to the 180 passes we needed.
That Wednesday afternoon, I was getting ready to leave church after our prayer hour when I felt God nudge me to go back in and pray some more. So I gathered the 15 or so people still hanging around and said,
“This may sound random, but we need to pray for the lift passes.”
I’d love to tell you that in that moment I had complete confidence and zero doubt—but honestly, it was one of those
“I do believe, help my unbelief” kind of days.
In my head, I was already doing the math. Running backup plans. Thinking through budgets. Wondering if we’d have to ask people to ride half days or choose just one of the two days. I even messaged the SFC leaders to let them know what was going on and ask them to start praying too.
Then came Thursday.
Linds and I were about an hour out from Snowshoe when my phone started blowing up. It was Pete.
“We’re at 155 free passes. Keep praying.”
I just sat there in the car kind of stunned—laughing, shaking my head, not really knowing what to do with it.
And then God kept going.
By Friday morning, we had over 200 free passes.
By Saturday, we ended up with around 50 extra.
Just straight-up abundance.
One of those “gather up the leftovers” kind of moments where God doesn’t just provide enough—He provides more than enough.
And honestly? That was just the beginning.
The Mountain, the Message, and the Magic of It All
Throughout the weekend, we got to hear powerful devotions from Josh, Mark, Benny, and Cory.
One of the things that always blows me away is how guys from different parts of the country can all prepare separately, with no group planning session, and yet when they share, it all ties together like it was mapped out weeks in advance.
Makes you think maybe we really do have a Creator who knows exactly what He’s doing.
Even the conditions felt like a gift.
Most of the region had pretty much melted out already with warmer temps rolling in, but the Monday before we arrived, Snowshoe got 8 inches of snow.
And honestly—we needed every bit of it.
That snow gave us the window we needed to ride both days, and we got to enjoy two solid days out on the mountain in God’s creation.
More Than a Retreat
After the weekend, I asked a few people what their favorite part was.
Todd started telling story after story after story. After about the fifth one, he just laughed and said,
“I can’t pick one. The whole weekend was my favorite part.”
Then Liam, who came for the first time this year, said,
“Every year you have this, you better save me a spot—because I’ll be there every time.”
That pretty much says it all.
From the sunrises to the crisp mountain air.
From the deep friendships to the kids running wild.
From the shared meals to the devotions, the lift rides, the late-night conversations, and everything in between—you could feel God’s presence all weekend long.
There’s just something special about Snowshoe, West Virginia.
So here’s to another year.
And honestly, here’s to a God who keeps showing up.
Raising a glass today and saying: Well done, God. Well done.
~ Josh Knipple