CU Fires: Restoring the Place of Christian Retreats for Adults

Christian Union's Multi-Site Events Continue to Grow 

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler

The total immersion in each portion of scripture reading, prayer, and fellowship made the experience incredible. It was amazing. The way I was able to meet with God and connect to others has broken some chains off of my heart!! The experience was invaluable. - CU Fire attendee, NYC

Spiritual retreats hold a long-standing place of pride for God’s people. In the Old Testament, all Jewish men were required to go to Jerusalem three times per year for spiritual retreats, known as feasts or festivals. Two of these retreats each lasted a week long. Women and children often went along with Jewish males for these festivals of worship and renewal. In the New Testament we read of the church taking several days at a time to seek God in worship, prayer, fasting, and devotion to the word of God. 

However, in Western Christianity today, spiritual retreats are only common in youth and collegiate ministry, but not so among most adults. Christian Union (CU) upholds the biblical principles that Christian retreats are powerful and necessary for all believers, including adults, to be strong in the Lord. Enter CU Fire.

CU Fires started informally in the living room of Matt Bennett, Founder and CEO of Christian Union. Bennett wanted to provide a local spiritual retreat for CU New York friends, so he would occasionally host days of seeking God and spiritual strengthening. Sometimes these local retreats were Friday night after work and all day Saturday or sometimes Thursday evening after work, all day Friday, and all day Saturday.

The effects of COVID shutdowns made Zoom a household name and working remotely commonplace. This new virtual space led to CU Fires multiplying nationwide. They no longer need be confined to one living room in Manhattan, but could spread across the nation to any living room with a wifi connection and a group of people hungry to pursue God.  

In January 27-29, 2022, the first two-and-a-half day CU Fire took place, making it the second multi-site event following CU Fire’s national debut. Two-and-a-half day versions of these retreats require that most people take a day off of work, but the spiritual impact is greater due to more time drawing close to God. Eight groups from various locations, with New York City heavily represented, joined together to seek the Lord to pray, read large portions of Scripture, hear biblical, challenging messages, fast during the daytime hours on Saturday, and fellowship together with like-minded Christians. 

The testimonies from January 2022’s CU Fire participants did not disappoint:  

Praise God that His timeless principle is operative today: Christian retreats are a dynamic means of grace to keep His people’s first love white hot. 

Two more one-and-a-half day CU Fires are already scheduled for 2022, April 1-2 and October 14-15, with future expansion looking bright in the years ahead.

Find out more about CU Fire at CUFire.org.