A Holistic Gap Year - Faith, Work, and Community
How would you define the word “gap”?
I bet some of the phrases and words that come to mind are missing or without direction or purpose. Maybe you think about time between 2 or more things. Or blank space. Or something that needs to be filled.
Our life is full of gaps and we have agency, whether we take advantage of it or not, over what we choose for our lives in our gaps. For those considering a “gap year,” it is the dash between now and what’s next.
And when I hear about people who choose to take a gap year, I am immediately curious about how they filled their time in the gap and whether it was an intentional time of transition between now and what’s next. Or, was it time wasted - like when you check your emails on your phone “real quick” and when you look up, an hour has been lost?
The culture and systems we live with prescribe a common approach to adulthood. But not everyone grows at the same pace, and there's no one size fits all path to maturity. The Gap at Sawmill Meadow provides a space for discovery, practice and processing so that time in the gap, between now and what’s next, allows for holistic growth.
MAKING YOUR FAITH YOUR OWN
In an age of constant change and evolving beliefs, the journey of faith for young adults has become increasingly complex.
Some cling steadfastly to the faith they inherited, while others drift away, seeking answers and solace elsewhere. This departure from religious institutions, often termed as "leaving the church," raises pertinent questions about the role of faith in the lives of the younger generation. As many new adults are leaving the church, many still seek a life of purpose that is found in Jesus and seek to find a way to follow Jesus while they live in the world without becoming of the world.
As many new adults are leaving the church, many still seek a life of purpose that is found in Jesus and seek to find a way to follow Jesus while they live in the world without becoming of the world.
In today's culture, many distractions and influences pull at the threads of faith, enticing young adults away from a rootedness in the Creator and a commitment to serving others. From the pervasive influence of social media, which often prioritizes self-promotion and superficial connections, to the consumerist mindset that equates fulfillment with material possessions, the cultural landscape presents challenges to the formation of a deep and enduring faith.
The journey towards a mature and secure faith is not linear but rather resembles a labyrinth of questioning, doubting, and rediscovery. I think about my own personal walk…it certainly has not been linear.
The things I believed early in my faith walk were merely a stepping stone towards JESUS. And the things I believe and practice today are, again, merely a stepping stone towards Jesus.
I have gained enough wisdom in my 54 years to know and yearn for continued growth toward Jesus until I take my last breath on Earth. I will never ARRIVE! It is only a problem if I think that I have.
Young adults are confronted with a variety of related, unrelated, and opposing beliefs and worldviews, each competing for their allegiance. In the face of this turmoil, the need for introspection and exploration becomes an essential step to walking on a path of learning how to make the faith of their childhood their own.
At The Gap at Sawmill Meadow…
Each member has time, space and trusted resources to explore how to make one's faith their own. While the formula for HOW this is accomplished is not simple, it can be explained in three parts:
Begin to understand why the faith traditions one had, or didn’t have, growing up were or were not important by taking a posture of curiosity and asking questions - questions of each other, of our families, of ourselves, of our mentors, and of God through the Bible and prayer. We believe that there cannot be transformation without reflection. This allows our faith beliefs to evolve into deeply personal convictions rooted in our Creator.
Commit to experiential practices and teachings throughout the program that foster spiritual growth like prayer, silence and solitude, generosity, service to others, grace, love and mercy. These are practices that connect us with the Creator and ground us in His creation and the path for each of our lives.
Deepen personal relationships with those in the immediate community and in the community outside the walls of the program by showing up to life as our true selves. Not a version of ourselves that is curated and transforms based on the audience. We do this so we can rejoice with each other when called for and we can weep with others when called for. Not for show but for harmony.
There cannot be transformation without reflection.
We believe the antidote to the exodus of new adults away from Jesus begins with these 3 things that, when practiced and processed, lead to a dynamic and authentic faith that is one step closer to Jesus. And yields a life of purpose.
Is it easy? No.
Does it require crazy faith? Yes.
Is it worth it? 100%.
There is not a bone in my body that doesn’t wish that my 3, new adult children, could have a deep relationship with Jesus without pain, hardship and questioning. That I could simply grab their hands and pull them to where I am currently on my walk toward Jesus. But that would not produce resilient disciples. They would not be rooted in Jesus. And the faith they would have would not be their own. And that is not solid ground.
thriving in responsibility with work as an example
One of the funniest, but maybe not surprising, comments that we heard at The Gap this past year after a week-long focus on financial literacy and then taking practical steps to PRACTICE being financially literate was “you know…this is really the same thing my parents have been telling me. It just ‘hits’ differently coming from others.”. Similarly, another member of the cohort said that, “what I am learning is not really anything new. The valuable part comes from having extended time, space, and feedback from someone besides my parents or siblings to practice skills on my own.”
The valuable part comes from having extended time, space, and feedback from someone besides my parents or siblings to practice skills on my own.
Many people use the word “adulting” to refer to necessary life skills to be an independent adult. The gravity of the need to know life skills often is not apparent until confronted with the consequences of not knowing.
Many new adults have a foundational understanding of what life skills they need to have to be independent but have never had a chance to practice those skills on their own - and then process through the accomplishment, or lack of accomplishment, of those skills.
All 3 of my kids worked jobs through high school and they learned valuable skills by doing so. But their quality of life was not dependent on their income.
At The Gap at Sawmill Meadow, we require all members to hold a job in the community (and likely not their dream job), and then develop a budget with the assistance of a financial advisor while they are at The Gap.
We ask that they exercise ownership and agency over the income they make without relying on the assistance of family members. Their budgeted income pays for their rent, utilities, internet, weekly groceries, and gas money. They learn how to plan for and accommodate a reduction in hours and may find themselves problem-solving through a situation when they may have overspent.
It is real life with real consequences. And it requires them to seek solutions.
community
Since the beginning of creation, humans simply were not designed to be alone. We were not designed to live in isolation. We were designed to be in relationship with others. In fact, Jesus said that people will know that we are His disciples if we have love for one another.
In the culture we live in today, love for others can seem distorted. It can seem false. It can seem fake. Further, our abilities to love others will be impacted if we are unable to love our own selves as God created us. This entails discovering lies that we believe about ourselves and habits that are forming us. It requires discovering and believing how God sees us and swapping malforming habits with life giving habits.
In the culture we live in today, love for others can seem distorted. It can seem false. It can seem fake. Further, our abilities to love others will be impacted if we are unable to love our own selves as God created us. This entails discovering lies that we believe about ourselves and habits that are forming us. It requires discovering and believing how God sees us and swapping malforming habits with life-giving habits.
The greatest commandment is this, love God. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. - Jesus
Elements of community that are discovered, practiced and processed at The Gap at Sawmill Meadow include:
1. Those we live with
2. Mentors we become known to
3. Members of the local community outside The Gap at Sawmill Meadow
The community we live with inside the walls of The Gap at Sawmill Meadow grows into a deeply authentic place of true, relational community.
It is beautiful and it can be messy.
It requires intentionality, inconvenience and is often inefficient, just like real relationships in real life because they are real.
It is very counter to the culture we live in today where if you don’t like something someone is saying, you simply “unfollow” them. At The Gap, we might be sharing a bathroom with and eating meals with the person that says something that we adamantly disagree with.
Mentoring relationships are a key element to how members of The Gap at Sawmill Meadow live in community as well.
With spiritually grounded mentors who are seeking and practicing to become more like Jesus each day too, each attendee learns to consider advice from others (who are not their parents) who have been “there” before them. Mentors that are not their parents are able to ask hard questions without being emotionally tied to the response or action. There is a new level of vulnerability and openness tapped into with older and wiser adults that members of The Gap learn to practice and grow from.
We practice being in the world without becoming of the world.
Studies are showing that the resilient disciples from Gen Z have a strong desire to be grounded in their faith without withdrawing from the world. This can be fruitful if one is firmly rooted in a community of like-minded believers like we cultivate and teach to cultivate at The Gap. Without that, the opportunity to become of the world is insidious and will happen before it is realized.
But how do we “go and make disciples of all nations” if we aren’t engaging with the world?
At The Gap at Sawmill Meadow, we practice loving our neighbor.
Who is our neighbor? Everyone! And everyone will know we are his disciples by the way we love others.
At a highly intentional level, members of the community join us around our dinner table weekly to share a meal that one of the members of The Gap has prepared SO THAT we can know them. That’s it. We take time to know them and then see what God has us to do next.
People will know that we are His disciples if we have love for one another.
We serve our community by volunteering to meet existing needs. Our focus is on our neighbor so our volunteer suggestions lean toward building relationships and knowing people well.
The Gap at Sawmill Meadow is an experience that engages each member holistically through a circular path of discovery, practice, and processing.
Each member is growing toward Jesus through a careful and intentional reflection of their faith, by practicing life skills in an environment that allows for growth through mistakes, and by cultivating a like-minded community so that we can engage with a worldly community.
Want to learn more?
Complete the form for a detailed outline of the programming at The Gap at Sawmill Meadow