Church Planters Gather for Rest and Prayer at Mittagong Retreat

Five Uniting Church NSW & ACT church-planting teams came together last week for a three-day retreat at The Hermitage in Mittagong, a time set aside for rest, prayer, and honest conversation ahead of the next stage of their planting journeys.

Fifteen people in all gathered at the retreat, which was organised by the Synod's church planting team. The theme, Abiding in Jesus Christ, centred on the image of Christ as the Vine and church planters as the branches, a reminder as the teams prepared to launch of the importance of staying rooted in Christ.

Graham Hill, who helped bring the retreat together after eight months of planning and groundwork, described the pace as intentional. Mornings began with psalms and silence. Meals were long, conversations longer. Teams prayed together and separately, sharing what God was stirring in each of them.

"There was laughter over afternoon tea, tears in team time, and a deep sense that the Spirit was doing quiet, weighty work in each of us," Hill said.

Friday evening was a highlight for many, a time of shared worship, scripture, and communion before the teams went their separate ways. On Saturday morning, each team was prayed over and sent out.

For Andrew Smith, Team Leader at the Molonglo Church Plant, the value of the retreat was in what it made room for. "I found it very valuable to slow down as a team for important conversations that in the usual course of things get pushed aside by other practical and planning matters," he said. "Already, those conversations are bearing fruit in the life of the Molonglo Church plant." Smith also noted the significance of the final morning's commissioning: "The time taken on the last day for praying over each team was very powerful."

Mark Watson, Resident Church Planter at the North Western Sydney Church Plant, reflected on the quality of connection the retreat fostered. "Connection with God and with others during the retreat was real and life-giving," he said. "God spoke to us and through us, and it was a blessing and pleasure sharing this time with the Church Planting team cohort."

Kevin Crouse, who is leading the Maitland Church Plant, described the retreat as a rare opportunity to breathe. "The retreat for me was a time to reflect with plenty of space to not have to plan or accomplish," he said. "The conversations that included heaps of laughs as well as vulnerability were deeply connecting and cathartic, great processing of where we have gotten to and space to breathe deeply in preparation for the journey ahead."

The five teams leave Mittagong rested and ready to continue the work of planting new congregations across NSW & ACT.