Students embrace ‘God’s time’ during weekend retreat
Last weekend, Oct. 28-30, was Waynesburg University’s Kairos retreat.
The retreat was attended by a group of Waynesburg students, which included senior psychology major Kristen Friday, who served as a leader on the retreat.
“Kairos is a weekend retreat that is peer-led,” said Friday. “It is a weekend that is spent in God’s time, and it allows and encourages the students to pursue their relationship with the Lord.”
She discovered the retreat last year through advertising.
“There are promo videos that we make, and flyers that we hand out. My friends talked to me about it as well,” said Friday. “Even though the people who have gone can’t tell you that much about the retreat itself, you can see the excitement that they have because of it.”
Kairos is a somewhat secretive retreat. Located at the Cornerstone Bible Ministry Church in Jefferson, Pennsylvania, students who have not yet been on the retreat are not given too much information about what goes on. Rather, Kairos is meant to be a surprise, as the students find out what they are doing when they get there.
“The beauty of Kairos is that it’s a mystery going into it,” Friday said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, and that allows you to participate in every activity that we do, because you don’t know what’s going to come next.”
The retreat started on Friday, Oct. 28. The students left campus at around 5:30 p.m. and left the retreat at about 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
“When they first started talking about the retreat, I was very excited to go, but then I got nervous and decided that I wasn’t going to sign up,” said Friday. “After application time had closed, I regretted not [signing up], and it just so happened that somebody who had signed up couldn’t go, and our director at the time emailed me and told me that a spot had opened up. I’m so thankful that the Lord found a way for me to get to that retreat because it was a life changing experience because it allowed me to get to know the Lord, and that has been a catalyst for so much growth in my walk with Christ.”
Friday speaks highly of her first experience on Kairos. “It was a life changing experience for me. It was the first [church] retreat that I had ever been on,” said Friday. “Growing up, my church didn’t have a youth group, so I didn’t have any opportunities to do any retreats growing up. Kairos being my first retreat was a great one to start off with.”
A student is only allowed to go on the retreat once as a student, but Friday was able to go again this year in a leadership capacity. For students who have not yet been on the retreat, Friday recommends them not to be nervous about going.
“I don’t think you should be nervous about [Kairos] being your first [retreat] because it is a great one to go on,” said Friday.
Friday is a fixture at Upper Room, which is a service held in Roberts Chapel every Sunday night, and is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Friday has advice for students who may be considering going to Kairos.
“Step out boldly in faith for the Lord,” said Friday. “I would encourage every student who is considering or even isn’t considering (attending) is to choose faith and step out.”
Brian Drake is a sophomore criminal justice major. A graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Drake went on plenty of church trips/retreats during his time in high school. Since freshmen are not eligible to go on Kairos, this retreat was Drake’s first opportunity as a sophomore.
“I was talking to a friend who was one of the leaders, and he said I should come on [Kairos],” said Drake. “I had heard that it was a life changing experience. She was a good friend and got me to go, and I’m so happy that I went.”
The thing that Drake felt was the most impactful part of Kairos was that it reassured his faith. “It’s the reassurance that (God) is with me all the time, and I am never alone,”said Drake.