AXIOS Winter Camp 2026 - What does it mean to have intimacy with God, yourself, and others? 

by Amelia Browne, Youth & Young Adults Co-ordinator, Toowong Uniting Church

What an amazing experience for our YA community! On Friday us leaders were there early, but it was so exciting to fill up the campsite with so many tents (and lots of pizza…). About 50 people stayed overnight both nights plus a couple came just for the day on Saturday.

Tim Sweetman from Samford spoke to us about what an intimate relationship with God looked like. He talked about Daniel, Isaiah and Job and what their relationships looked like with God. It wasn’t always sparkly and exciting for them; it came with challenges and complications and, from the outside perspective, sometimes weird. Tim reminded us that a life close to God is not always easy, but it is also a different experience for each one of us - we should not be afraid of what that looks like, and express that faith how we feel comfortable.

On Saturday, we did a creation walk in the morning (shout out to Mardi from Uniting World!), scrap booking and lots of free time, followed by our night session on intimacy with others. Holly Brandon, another Axios leader, shared what it means to love people regardless of the differences and the difficulties that come with that. She reminded us that it is ok to be different, to disagree but to always remain loving. Not in a way that dismisses the hurt that can come, but because that is what God is asking of us in Matthew 22:36-39 and that is to love your neighbour as yourself. The evening ended with communion and feet washing. It was a beautiful moment and so special to many of those in that space. On Sunday, Samford Valley Community Church allowed us to run a service for them and it was so amazing to share that space with them. Thank you for letting us use your grounds to host so many Uniting Church events!

Some other things that are worth a shout out!

• The worship was amazing, the team was so passionate and in love with God, it was so inspiring to see them lead us to worship also.
• Fernando and Faye (my other fellow leaders) - what amazing leaders!
• There was lots of volleyball and soccer
• There was a very nice warm fire pit (I can’t say that everyone was warm enough - not everyone predicted how cold it was going to be).

Overall Axios was SUPERB and the Axios leadership team is so excited to be running more events soon! (Keep an eye out for our social media)