At times, a single choice, experience, or encounter radically alters a person’s life. Saul’s meeting with Christ on the road to Damascus and Martin Luther’s panic-driven vow to become a monk are striking examples. In such moments, character transformation is sudden and irreversible.
For most of us, most of the time, though, that’s not how transformation happens. It is slow, unexciting, and aggravatingly nonlinear. Who we are now—and who we are becoming—are the outworkings of the roughly 35,000 choices we made yesterday, stacked on top of the 35,000 choices made on countless days before.
Often, character is not forged in the crucible but simmered slowly on the stove.
It is all too easy for us to leave that process on autopilot, to take the path of least resistance time and time again, until one day we find ourselves wondering, “How did I get here?”—assuming, that is, we take time to wonder at all.
Summit Gap Year aims to root out such passivity and replace it with intentional living. We strive to create an environment for young adults who find themselves at a crossroads between what has been and what awaits, an environment that . . .
. . . situates them alongside peers coming from similar places with similar questions and similar longings;
. . . invests in them spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, imaginatively, physically, and relationally;
. . . and provides time and space for them to learn eternal truths, reflect on the implications of those truths, and put those reflections into practice, such that their minds and wills might become increasingly unified in the pursuit of the good, true, and beautiful.
Our goal is to equip and encourage the students who come through our doors to understand themselves and their peers in terms of who God is—and to live in accordance with that understanding—so that they may thereby love and serve God and neighbor with every aspect of their beings. While this mission is not unique, we are blessed to be able to pursue it at Gap Year.
Here is what it looks like . . .
Our fall semester is reflective. We retreat to Tarryall River Ranch in the mountains—to learn, meditate, and pray. It is a time marked by quiet. Our overarching questions are aimed upward or inward—concerning the nature of God, the nature of humanity, and how the former shapes and gives value to the latter. To that end, we study the Old and New Testaments, Church history, theology, philosophy, and apologetics. Our students spend time in solitude, journaling and reading Scripture, and—in an effort to be fully present where their feet are—they turn their phones in during the week.1
While the fall is a season intentionally removed from the larger world, it is also a deeply relational time for us. We do most everything together: we share meals, attend church as a group, and watch and discuss movies each week. Our students also participate in small groups and meet regularly one-on-one with their mentors. There are weekly adventures: camping in the Great Sand Dunes, canyoneering in southern Utah, or hiking one of the local “14ers”— so that the beauty of creation might move us to worship our Creator. In this tight-knit setting, masks rarely remain in place for long.
This creates ample opportunity for authentic community—to grow in patience and curiosity, to practice repentance and forgiveness, and to embrace each other as the beloved-but-broken brothers and sisters we are within Christ’s family.
With the approach of the spring semester, a new question comes into focus: “What does it look like for me to leave here well?” Summit Gap Year was once Summit Semester, a program that began in September and ended in December. What we found, though, was that our students longed for more time to apply the lessons they were learning before returning home or stepping into school or the workforce. Thus, the Spring Semester was born.
The spring has become something of a stepping stone for our program. We relocate from the mountains to the city, our weekly outings shift from mountains and deserts to museums and theaters, and our classroom conversations shift to topics like evangelism, economics, art, and politics. Instead of asking our students to turn their phones in during the week, we ask them what healthy relationships with their technology look like. Our students engage in work studies, opportunities to network with Christian professionals in areas of interest, and to seek essential skills or certifications in those areas.
The spring semester is also a time when we look to pass the torch. In the fall, we provide a schedule with clearly defined blocks for our students to study, exercise, rest, and otherwise steward the bodies and minds that God has given them. In the spring, our students have greater freedom to set their own schedules. We intend to provide space for them to take greater ownership of their lives, to build habits and practice self-discipline, and to internalize Christian values that lie at the heart of our program.
This space is critical because, again, lasting character transformation takes time—especially the ways of thinking and living that can withstand the pressures of hostile environments.
The process also tends to be a bit bumpy—and it is all too easy for us to lose heart. Thus, we strive for Gap Year to be a space where students can build resilience, learning to lean in when encountering setbacks rather than finding themselves overwhelmed.
Our program is certainly no cure-all. It will not magically eliminate, say, the apathy or anxiety that a young person experiences. But, for those who find themselves at a crossroads and want to press forward with intent, we relish the opportunity to meet them there and walk a ways together. Better still: God, in his kindness, joins us in the journey—often in ways that we cannot anticipate at the start—and it is there, through those divine appointments, that 7 months at Gap Year become truly transformational.
By Justin Brittain
If you’d like to learn more about Summit’s Gap Year 7-month program, click here!
Formation doesn’t happen at the speed of scrolling. The world moves fast. College decisions, career expectations, social pressure—students are rushed into adulthood long before they’re ready for it. Many feel overwhelmed, disconnected, and unsure of their purpose.
But here’s the truth: You can’t accelerate your way into maturity. Formation requires space. Presence. Practice.
Summit Gap Year isn’t a pause from life. It’s an invitation to live differently.