Young adults gather at Montreat to explore 'Strains of Joy' in faith and community

MONTREAT, North Carolina — College students live between worlds during winter break — no longer quite home, not yet back at school, suspended in the in-between space where old friends meet new identities and the foundations laid by hometown churches brush against the formation of campus ministries. A feeling of limbo characterizes early young adulthood, regardless of whether an individual is presently pursuing higher education or not. It’s one of many strains of struggle and surprising opportunities evoked in last weekend’s young adult conference at Montreat Conference Center.

On Friday evening, more than 600 young adults and their group leaders chose to embrace the liminality of their lives, gathering at Anderson Auditorium for the opening of the annual Montreat College Conference, where the theme "Strains of Joy" promised to name what many feel but can’t quite articulate.

The conference, which ran through Monday, brought together young adults for what Montreat president Richard DuBose called an opportunity for radical honesty.

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Aware of how the competing priorities that young adults face as they step into independence impact how they pursue Christian community in this time of life, DuBose emphasized that choosing to attend the conference over other winter break options was significant not just individually but communally.

"You could have stayed at home a few more days. You could earn a couple extra bucks while you're home for Christmas, but you decided to come here," he said, adding: "I think that's going to be an important decision that you made for yourself, but I also want you to know that that's an important decision that you've made for all the other people that are here."

The welcome prayer led by an organizing team of young adults set an inclusive tone. One of the organizers, Rain from The Grove Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, prayed that "every child of God will know that they are loved unconditionally by their siblings in Christ, regardless of their race, their ethnicity, their ability, their gender identity and expression, sexual orientation or religious experience."

Many attendees arrived in groups organized through PCUSA-related colleges, campus ministries of secular universities or their home churches, creating a diverse mix of religious backgrounds and geographic regions. The Georgia Lodge, for example, hosted students from The Table at the University of Georgia, Georgia College and Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

"I've been coming since the beginning of college," said Audrey Markham, now in her fifth year at the conference. Markham, a University of Georgia graduate, is attending the conference in a new capacity this year as a Young Adult Volunteer with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This year, she lives with six other young adult volunteers while working at a non-profit serving survivors of human trafficking in New Orleans. She co-led a workshop to tell college students about her experience and to invite them to consider a year of service after graduation.

Individuals without a group were also welcome. The Rev. Dr. Gini Norris-Lane, executive director of UKirk Collegiate Ministries, the national organization that supports more than 200 Presbyterian campus ministries, led a small group specifically for solo attendees.

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Friday evening's worship featured musicians Blue Setzer on vocals and percussion and De' Patton on keyboard, followed by preaching from the Rev. Natarsha Sanders, who challenged attendees to reconsider their understanding of joy through James 1:2-4.

Sanders, who works with racial equity and women’s intercultural ministries with the Unified Agency of the PC(USA), pressed fundamental questions: "When is the last time you've been able to count your joy? When is the last time you've ever even thought about it? Do you know what joy is? Are you still straining to see?"

She emphasized that joy emerges through trials that produce perseverance, which leads to wholeness, according to the Book of James. "James is telling us to count it all joy, not just for joy's sake," Sanders said, "because the tests produce perseverance. Our perseverance produces wholeness. And what are we here for? Other than to be made whole."

Three young adults from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the liturgy. Callie, Kalen and Drew made a gametime decision to participate in opening worship at the request of their friend. With less than an hour to prepare, they divided up the prayer of confession, assurance, affirmation of faith and daily scripture. After the service they reflected on what they had received from the service. Callie said she appreciated Sanders' message about God's presence with both the lost and the found which the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Luke 15:4-7 and Matthew 18: 12-14. "I liked the part about whether you're the one or the 99, God is with you or God is going towards you," she said.

Kalen and Drew both connected with Sanders' exploration of the number three. Throughout the sermon, Sanders included references to primary color groupings, the stability of triangles as well as more philosophical musings on the Triune God, a concept central to Presbyterian theology. As one of three siblings, Drew noted how the significance of three resonated both personally and universally.

"Also with the three significance, because I also have two siblings, so it’s a trio for us. It's just something special that people always connect with,” said Drew, appreciating how the sermon anecdotes applied “to the world, to your life, to everything, to everyday life.” 

As worship concluded, waves of young adults streamed out into the clear, starry North Carolina mountain night heading toward music bingo, board games and other recreational activities — an embodied continuation of studying joy through fellowship and play and an invitation to embrace joy’s strains through the weekend and into the new year.

Highlights from the Montreat College Conference will post the rest of the week on pcusa.org.

Throughout the spring of 2026, reels featuring video testimonials from college students on where they find spiritual joy and their favorite things about being Presbyterian in college will be posting through PCUSA's TikTok.