OCBP 2026: Week Two
Hello friends, family, and others! We had such an amazing time during the first week getting to know each other and learning about the gospel more and more each day. All of our trainings have been very informational and helpful to each and every one of us students.
On Monday, July 13th, we started our day off with our daily devotional in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. These few verses touched on the fact that if we do not have love in us and or our actions, the things we do or have do not matter. Our foundations are built on love and how that carries through the gifts and faith that we have.
After our daily devotionals, we went to First Presbyterian Church to meet with Chris from Boardwalk Chapel to learn about the “The Momentum in Evangelism: Prayer.” We studied The Lord’s Prayer and deep dove into each of the verses within it. We ended our day with a Bible study in Amos 4.
On Tuesday, July 14th, we started with the daily devotional in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6. These few verses spoke on the foundation of what love is and how it was created to be. We then had a training with Pastor Dan Terracciano. Dan taught us how to lead a Bible study, ask good questions, and put everything together. After the study, we had free time to relax, go to the beach, etc. Following dinner, we spent our evening playing games, watching movies, crafts, and more!
On Wednesday, July 15th, our morning devotional was continued in 1 Corinthians 13. Today we read v. 7-8. Although everything in the world will eventually come to an end, love never ends. Love is meant to be able to be carried through any trial, success, and more.
After our devo, we had free time! Some of us went to the beach, others rested or did some other work. For lunch, Philly Council was very kind and brought us a large amount of food, drinks, and desserts! We are so blessed and grateful that they were willing and able to do that for us. Thank you, Philly Council!! After lunch, we had free time for the rest of the day until dinner. For today’s Bible study, we dove into Amos 5.
On Thursday, July 16th, the daily devotional was 1 Corinthians 13:9-11. As we grow and become more knowledgeable, we start to think and view things in a different way than when we were children.
Chris from Boardwalk Chapel continued his training with us on evangelism. We learned the meaning behind evangelism, the elements of the gospel, questions to ask when opening a conversation, followed by more in depth follow-up questions. These things were so helpful for us to learn! After our training sessions, we had dinner and studied in Amos 6 to end the evening.
On Friday, July 17th, we dove into the final two verses of 1 Corinthians 13. Verses 12-13, the more we know God’s love, we are known and we should remain in three things: faith, hope, and love. Our final session for this week was with Chris to finish our evangelism training. During these couple sessions, we learned about the key truths of the Bible, how to call people to respond to the gospel, more questions to ask when in conversation, and specific questions with people of different backgrounds. When we were done, we had free time for the rest of the day. We were so excited because staff member Ray came back to join us for week #3!!
On Saturday, July 18th, we had the entire day to ourselves to adventure, complete some work, go to the beach—you name it! Staff members Kenny and Emily also came to stay with us for the week! We unfortunately had to say goodbye to Abby as she had to travel back home to Florida for work related things. We all miss her so much and cannot wait to see her again in the future, whenever possible. We love and miss you, Abby!!
On Sunday, July 19th, we attended Sunday School with some other church members at First Presbyterian Church, followed by the main church service. Pastor Luke and his family were very inviting to have us students over for lunch again! For the rest of the day, a lot of us went to the beach with Kenny and his family, Emily, and others who are visiting and helping us on this trip during the week.
This week has been very good and informational to all of us. We all learned so much and had great conversations with each other as we studied, talked over lunch or dinner, and had free time.
—Kayley Nguyen, OCBP 2026 student participant
