By Garry Sanossian
Today, young adults live in a world that rarely slows down. Study, work, church life and constant digital connection can leave little room to pause and reflect. Amid full calendars and competing expectations, rest can feel counter-intuitive. This is why the team behind the recent network Young Adults Retreat, was passionate about providing a counter-cultural message.
The retreat in January was shaped by the conviction that for many young adults, even faith can quietly become about doing rather than being. Spiritual identity can tend to be shaped by performance rather than presence with God, and serving, leading and showing up can begin to define their worth. The message shared with our network’s next generation was clear in the sessions and conversations across the weekend – your value does not come from what you do for God, but from who you are as His child.
“Sometimes our value and our worth sit on what we do in our local church,” said retreat director Peter Sargent. “We love what we do, but that’s not where God values us. God values us as His children.”
Gathering at The Tops from 16-18 January for a retreat themed ‘Selah’, which centred on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God,” more than 70 young adults stepped into a shared space of rest, reflection and renewed identity.
“The whole theme of Selah was to pause and just wait and sit with God,” said retreat director Peter Sargent. “We really felt like this year was about creating room for Jesus to move.”
Worship session at the Young Adults Retreat.
“It’s been encouraging to see the need and the heart for Jesus within our young adults, not just in Sydney but across the movement,” Peter said. This hunger was clear by the distance young adults travelled to be there, with five driving 12 hours from Broken Hill, two flying from Lismore, and one from Canberra.
Peter explained that from the beginning, there was freedom for participants to simply rest in God. While the weekend included worship, teaching and workshops, young adults were encouraged to slow down in practical ways.
“We told them they were free to sit out any session if they just wanted to spend time with Jesus,” Peter said. “Even during workshops, they could choose to rest, reflect and sit quietly with Him.”
Peter Sargent speaking at the Young Adults Retreat.
When heavy rain interrupted plans for worship and a walk at the beach, the attendees had to lean even more into rest! This inside, quiet time opened space for deeper conversation, reflection and connection.
“It’s easy for us to try to create a program for a weekend,” Peter said. “But ultimately when God wants things to change, He’ll implement things like the weather.”
Hudson from Broken Hill Church of Christ recalled, “For about the first 45 minutes, the quiet time was brilliant, really peaceful. There was kind of this light mist around and then the heavens opened and it was torrential downpour. I got drenched, but it was a good experience.”
For Tim, 22, from Restore Church in Castle Hill, worship was a highlight.
“Worship was just incredible,” he said. “It was so freeing just being able to worship, surrounded by such an amazing crew. Like the Bible says, when two or more are gathered, He is there.”
Alongside worship and teaching from Abi Skelly, Andy Chung, Jono Prince and Mitch Salmon from Global Mission Partners, the retreat also focused on building healthy rhythms for life. A Saturday morning session explored practical ways to begin the day with Jesus, helping young adults think about sustainable habits once they returned home.
“I’ve seen a lot of our young adults and emerging leaders get burnt out because they just go and go and go,” Peter said. “You can’t sustain that long term. There has to be a healthy process in place.”
Moments of joy at the Young Adults Retreat.
In another workshop, participants took part in a guided quiet reflection walk, slowly following a set path based on the Christian tradition of labyrinth walking, pausing and breathing before entering a space of rest and then retracing their steps. The practice was designed to help them slow down, focus on God and create space to listen.
For Alicia, it became more than just a walk. As she moved through the path, she found herself becoming more aware of God’s presence and what He might be saying to her heart.
“I was a little self-conscious, thinking people were watching me walk,” she said. “But I paused and realised it didn’t really matter. I needed to do this for God and not worry about what other people were thinking.”
An unexpected highlight of the weekend was a baptism in the Grevillea pool on Saturday night for Georgia Cross, previous Tops intern and current Program Leader and Designer at The Tops. During worship, she asked if she could take this step to mark a significant step in her faith journey.
Georgia being baptised.
For Tim, Georgia’s fiancée, it was especially meaningful.
“It was really special to see her take the next step in her faith.”
By the end of the weekend, Selah had become more than a theme. It became a commitment to return to daily life and local church with a renewed understanding of rest, identity and trust in God.
“It’s all well and good to hear a really good sermon,” Peter said. “But the heart for me is that they actually leave equipped to implement what they’ve learned in their local context.”
