Retreat brings joy and community to The Garden campus ministry

While the month of May has been “an absolutely amazing, joyful month of ministry at The Garden in Brisbane, Australia, the high was the recent retreat,” reports campus minister Emily Abernathy.

Now the semester is over, but the glow from “Mountain Camp” remains.

“This semester we’ve been focusing on the promise Jesus made: ‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full,’” said Emily. “We wanted to carry that theme into the weekend. There is something so special about getting away together and spending a whole weekend in each other’s presence. The bonds between people who see each other every week deepen with more meaningful conversations and fun times together.”

Campus minister Eric Schlipf, Emily’s husband, set the stage with a talk about his own life and faith journey, which encouraged two students to share later in the evening.

“A ‘Friendship Walk,’ gave an invitation to everyone else to go and share their own stories,” said Emily. “People came back after those chats seriously glowing, and joy filled the air. Since the weekend the community has reached a whole new level and we are humbled and overjoyed to be a part of this thing that God is doing!”