The 2026 Australia youth retreat was held in Melbourne the weekend of June 5-7. Several of our young people came in person from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, while others joined remotely. The theme of the retreat was “Rooted and Grounded.”

Friday

The retreat started on Friday evening with prayer and choruses that brought spiritual refreshing. Then, Lekan Olagookun of Melbourne introduced the theme of the youth retreat, followed by a presentation on “Understanding the Gospel and Our Identity in Christ.” The highlight of the presentation, taken from Psalm 1:3, was a symbolic fruitful tree thriving in a well-watered area, lush with green vegetation. The presentation led all participants to go to their knees, seeking God that they might be spiritually rooted, grounded, and able to bear fruit.

The second part of the evening focused on the need for young people to be grounded in the Gospel. Emmanuel Esan from Adelaide led the session with a focus on Colossians 2:6-7 and Matthew 7:24-27. He stressed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation for faith, not feelings or trends. Afterward, the focus turned to how to stay grounded in a shifting world, and a good prayer meeting followed.

Saturday

The Saturday program was themed “Growing Deep Roots.” It began with an early morning prayer meeting before the first Bible study, which was titled “Steadfastness and Stability.” The key Scriptures were drawn from Ephesians 3:17 and Psalm 1:1-3. One portion of the study brought out that roots grow in secret before any fruit appears. Similarly, spiritual depth comes from time with God. The follow-up discussion revealed that a rooted life withstands pressure. The session concluded with an activity and prayer.

The second Bible study, titled “Separation from the World,” was in a discussion forum led by Tianosi Akerejola, Knowledge Tshuma, and Mebayo Akerejola, who are all from Sydney. Two main Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:58 and Hebrews 10:23, guided the discussion on the need to be consistent in developing a firm faith and obedience. Michael Chiutare, who leads the Perth congregation, gave the closing prayer.

In the afternoon, a session titled “Rooted and Built Up” was moderated by a team of three: Yinka Esan from Adelaide, Farai Chiutare from Perth, and Foluke Olagookun from Melbourne. It featured an interactive game between two teams named “Faith” and “Obedience.” A representative from each team was blindfolded and led along a marshmallow path by their teammates. The session was greatly productive, and at the close, many of the youth went to prayer to rededicate and recommit their lives to God.

In the evening, a time of prayer preceded a revival and evangelistic service. Mabasa Mapfumo, the leader of the Brisbane group, brought a message from Ephesians 3:17-19, continuing the overall youth retreat theme. The sermon implored the youth to also strive for a life which is rooted and grounded in Christ, and afterward, another good prayer meeting followed.

Sunday

On Sunday, the morning service began with the orchestra playing a medley of songs followed by the choir singing “Bigger than All My Problems.” Brother Lukan brought the message from Romans 1:16, emphasizing the reason Paul the Apostle was not ashamed of the Gospel: he had an encounter with the Lord and was grounded in the Lord. He urged the young people to strive for the keeping power in the Gospel rather than seek after the world.

The youth retreat weekend was a great time of spiritual refreshing and reawakening in which many of our young people were able to further consecrate their lives to God.