Basileia

Basileia is a week-long Spring retreat with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapters from all around New York and New Jersey. After Spring semester finals are over, we head up to Lake Saranac YoungLife Camp in the Adirondack Mountains. 

"Basileia" is Greek for kingdom. We spend the week learning more about God and how to advance his Kingdom on our campuses and in our world.

The retreat serves as a time to grow closer with your fellow chapter members, meet new people from different universities in our area, prepare for the next year of leadership, and most importantly to grow deeper in your relationship with God. 

“Revitalizing!” - Anonymous Junior

“Chat, does she miss me?” - Anonymous Single

“Provided space to heal with brothers and sisters“

“Gave me a sense on what it means to serve God joyfully”

Reviews from students:


Scholarships can be provided if students need financial aid. Basileia registration opens in March! 

There are five different tracks that you can choose to attend for the whole week. 

Servant Leadership Team:

God invites you to become his partners in declaring his Kingdom on campus. Seek God’s purposes for your fellowship and campus with your staff worker and “exec” or “Servant Leader Team.” Enrich your understanding of Christian leadership by studying Biblical models. Gain key skills in shaping vision and developing strategy. Commit to plans which grow your chapter into an effective witnessing community. Staff approval required to register.

Encountering Jesus

Want to spend a week with Jesus? Discover who he is in the same way the Early Church did: Watch him perform miracles. See his authority, his love, his power. Let his teaching transform your heart and stretch your faith. Hear his call to be his disciples and his witnesses. Come live with Jesus through an intensive manuscript study of Mark’s Gospel.

Transforming Prayer:

When we pray, God changes things: people, campuses and cultures. Through prayer, God shares his heart, infuses us with passion, and invites us to participate in his purposes. Your understanding of prayer will be transformed as you learn to listen, intercede, pray boldly and lead others in prayer that transforms your chapter and campus. You will be transformed.

Origins:

Want to understand Jesus in his context? Join us for an experimental track called, “Origins, A journey through the Bible Jesus Read”. By studying the Old Testament and entering into the fullness of God’s interaction with humankind, one begins to realize how good, beautiful and just God is.

Work Crew

Sign up for a track during the week your chapter comes to Basileia and then consider coming one week early or staying one week after to serve on Work Crew. The Work Crew Track is very different from all the other tracks at Basileia. It will re-shape you for God’s mission on campus. It requires you to expend yourself physically for long hours, and will challenge you to practice joyfully serving others with your mind, heart, and spirit. Serving on Work Crew also means you will have to come one day early (by 1:00 PM) or stay one day late (until 2:00 PM), – depending on the needs – to help transition between Basileia weeks. While Work Crew can be demanding, you will be granted a $200 scholarship to apply to your own week at Basileia, or towards another student’s Basileia registration fee.