Pastor Steve was invited to be the guest speaker at a youth retreat in Goshen, NY. After fighting through several blizzards including one that dumped nearly 4 feet of snow in the Baltimore Washington area, Pastor Steve was able to travel by train to reach his destination. Pastor Steve spent the weekend entrenched with a youth group he had never been with before and yet was able to quickly establish relationships and have fun throughout the weekend with the kids. He still communicates through Facebook to this day with several of the teens at the retreat. He preached three messages that hit home with many of the teens.

In his own words, "The retreat was powerful, as we focused on what it means to have faith and hope in God in the midst of the brokenness and hopelessness that this generation faces on a daily basis." Youth Pastor Joe bought books for every teenager who attended the retreat.