Welcome to YouShape
A year to grow in faith, deepen your relationship with Jesus and explore where God may be calling you.
YouShape is a year-long journey for young adults aged 18-30. Join a small local hub, build friendships, explore Christian practices and share in retreats, residentials, pilgrimage and adventure.
See what YouShape is about
A simple introduction to YouShape - what it is, how the year works and what you can expect if you join.
A year shaped around you, community and adventure
YouShape is more than a course or a series of sessions. Across the year, you will grow personally, become part of a local community and share experiences that take faith beyond the usual routine.
You-Shaped
Make space to explore your faith, your gifts, your questions and your sense of calling. Through prayer, Scripture and reflection, YouShape helps you notice where God may already be at work in your life.
Community-Shaped
Journey with a small local hub of young adults. Eat together, pray together, have honest conversations and build friendships with people who are also trying to work out what following Jesus looks like in everyday life.
Adventure-Shaped
Step outside the ordinary rhythm of life through a residential weekend, retreat day and pilgrimage. Walk, travel, pray, laugh, reflect and make memories together along the way.
What you will do
Monthly hub gatherings
Meet with a small local group for food, prayer, Scripture, conversation and practical Christian practices. Sessions across the year include Rule of Life, Examen, Lectio Divina, fasting, Sabbath and rest, stewardship, prayer practices and witnessing.
Residential weekend
From Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, all hubs come together for a weekend of worship, teaching, conversation, rest and community.
Retreat day
On Saturday 20 February 2027, we pause for a day of prayer, reflection and space to listen to God together.
Pilgrimage
From Wednesday 2 June to Sunday 6 June 2027, YouShape participants walk together, pray together and share the journey. The pilgrimage creates space to step away from everyday life, deepen friendships, reflect and listen for God along the way.
Commissioning and celebration
On Sunday 11 July 2027, we gather to celebrate the year, pray for what comes next and commission participants for the next part of their journey.
Your route through the year
YouShape moves through four distinct movements: Sense, Shape, Serve and Sent. Each month your hub meets for a session that helps you go deeper, practise something together and take it into everyday life. Each movement ends at a shared way marker.
Movement 1
Sense
September to October
What is God doing in me, and where might God be calling me?
Build the hub community and explore the rhythms, relationships and practices that help you follow Jesus. Begin shaping a realistic Rule of Life for the year ahead.
Learn a prayerful way of looking back over daily life, noticing where God is present and paying attention to what God may be inviting you into next.
Movement 2
Shape
November to February
What practices and rhythms are shaping my life with God?
Slow down with Scripture through reading, reflection, prayer and contemplation, learning to listen for how God may be speaking through the Bible.
Notice what may be shaping or controlling you, then experiment with fasting in a realistic way that creates more space to seek God.
Explore rest as a gift rather than a reward. Plan a Sabbath rhythm that makes space to stop, delight, worship and be restored.
Movement 3
Serve
March to June
How can my gifts become a gift to others?
Reflect on what God has entrusted to you, explore your habits around time, gifts and money, and choose one practical step towards faithful generosity.
Explore prophetic prayer, Scripture and pictures with care and humility, learning how prayer can encourage, comfort and point people towards Christ.
Movement 4
Sent
June to July
Where is God leading me next, and how will I live this out?
Explore how to share faith naturally and without pressure through words, hospitality, prayer, service and the way you live.
Look back with gratitude, celebrate what God has done, and practise joy as part of Christian life rather than treating celebration as an afterthought.
Scroll down inside the route window to move through the four movements, monthly sessions and way markers.
Apply for the 2026-27 cohort
The programme begins in September 2026 and runs through to July 2027.
Applications close on Tuesday 1 September 2026.
Find your hub
Your hub is your local YouShape community: the small group you will eat, pray, talk, laugh and journey with through the year.
Slough (Taplow)
Start something new. Be part of the first group to shape the life and story of this hub.
From Reading
High Wycombe
"My year would not have been the same." - Ashleigh
From Beaconsfield
Oxford
"I felt really loved and appreciated." - Darius
From Abingdon
Aylesbury
"The feeling of really belonging is rare these days." - Josh
From Thame
Your area next?
No hub close enough yet? Tell us where you are. Expressions of interest help us see where the next YouShape hub should grow.
Tell us you're interested ->Follow YouShape
Keep up with the journey, events, pilgrimage moments and life across the hubs on Instagram.
Follow @youshapelifeYour safety matters
YouShape follows the Diocese of Oxford's safeguarding policies and procedures. Convenors are safely recruited and trained, hubs are supported by local churches, and residential activities are planned with appropriate safeguarding arrangements and risk assessments.
For more information, visit the Diocese of Oxford safeguarding pages .
Questions?
Read the FAQs or contact the YouShape team. We are happy to talk through the programme, hubs, accessibility, costs and bursary support.