For this returning attendee, Katoomba Easter Convention isn’t a decision—it’s a rhythm. After more than five years of attending, Rylea now calls KEC a “non-negotiable” part of her year. Amid major life changes, a new job, new degree, and an upcoming wedding—KEC 2025 became a moment to pause, reflect, and surrender afresh.
1. What made you decide to come to Easter Convention this year?
Since my first year attending, Easter Convention is now a non-negotiable. Nothing really makes me ‘decide’ to come because it’s simply a habit now. Easter is such a grounding and resetting time of the year to reflect on my walk as a Christian. Every year I am re-motivated to re-centre my life around Jesus, and having this one long weekend is a perfect “spiritual reset” to remember what is truly important amongst the busyness of life.
Every year I am re-motivated to re-centre my life around Jesus, and having this one long weekend is a perfect “spiritual reset” to remember what is truly important amongst the busyness of life.
2. You’ve been to Easter many times. How was this year different?
Easter did feel quite different this year. In my personal life, I’m in the midst of a big year of change; a new job, a new degree, getting married, and all the things that come with that. I felt a much more emotional response to the talks this year, and I don’t know if it’s simply because of my personal circumstances, or the rawness of the speakers this year.
Each speaker was very honest about where they have lacked, where they have fallen short, and where they still needed to grow. There is always a focus on how we live our lives outwardly, but this year I really felt a shift in my convictions around my perspective, and inner life. How do I view others? How do I truly turn to God first over things or my own might? What is my natural heart posture? Seek First the Kingdom had such a focus on a total surrender of your life and that really spoke to me this year, as I am stepping into so many unknowns, it is comforting to know I don’t need all these extra things, but just one thing: surrender.
3. What was a highlight or moment from the weekend that really stuck with you?
My highlight this year was Kirk Patston’s talks. They were so wonderfully confusing. I often find myself feeling like when I hit a point of God that I don’t understand, I simply need to dig deeper, pray more, ask for a revelation, etc. which are all good things. However, Kirk really opened my eyes to the mystery that is our God. He is so big, and so outside of us that there are things I can never understand, and that’s okay. What a joy it can be to believe in a God that we can never fully know! A constant reminder that God is God and I am not.
4. Was there a particular talk or speaker that encouraged or challenged you? How so?
Definitely Kirk. His honesty through his own struggles, his lack of fear to provide us with riddles and show us all that we do not know, his willingness to leave things unanswered as we grapple with our own thoughts and convictions. It was a unique way of looking at the Bible and discovering more of God’s character that has really changed the way I approach diving deeper into my faith and into the Word.
5. How did you see God at work during your time at KEC?
KEC is such a beautiful time to see God at work through his Spirit. New understandings from old passages, testimonies from other visitors, little whispers during talks. It can be overwhelming to be in a room with thousands of Christians and you may expect to hear such a loud and clear word from God, but I find that in those loud and busy times, God is still in the whisper. He’s in the quiet times after the talks, in your thoughts as you dwell on a word or point from the day. KEC for me is a time when God has already been at work in people’s lives, and KEC is often the final piece of the puzzle for them to connect.
It can be overwhelming to be in a room with thousands of Christians and you may expect to hear such a loud and clear word from God, but I find that in those loud and busy times, God is still in the whisper.
6. What was it like attending KEC with those you came with?
I attended with my fiance and a few friends. It is so encouraging to attend with the people close to me. It was one friend’s first time and one friend’s second, and to see how the weekend refreshed them and enriched them, and their faith was wonderful. It is a wonderful thing to be able to spend 4 uninterrupted days with the people you care about, and to be prompted to have deeper, more insightful, faithful conversations is something I am thankful for each year.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to spend 4 uninterrupted days with the people you care about…
7. Did anything surprise you about the weekend—either practically or spiritually?
I was surprised by the spiritual impact KEC had on me this year. I was really encouraged to have a whole perspective shift into what it means to truly Seek First the Kingdom and to surrender all parts to God. I feel like this has been a deeper step I’ve yet to take, in truly understanding what that means, and whilst I’m by no means perfect, I find myself more equipped to look not into my life and where I can fit God, but into what God is already doing, and how I can be a witness for Him there, surrendering my plans for the plans of the Kingdom.
8. What would you say to someone considering coming to KEC for the first time next year?
Come! Do not hesitate. It’s an investment in your faith; it’s an investment in your future. It’s a weekend away in beautiful Katoomba (with amazing food if you stay at Mountain Camp!), but also, if you let it, it can be such a foundational weekend of your year. I cannot imagine a better way to spend Easter than truly reflecting on all that Jesus has done for me when He died on that cross.
It’s an investment in your faith; it’s an investment in your future. It’s a weekend away in beautiful Katoomba (with amazing food if you stay at Mountain Camp!), but also, if you let it, it can be such a foundational weekend of your year.
9. How has KEC impacted your walk with Jesus as you return to everyday life?
KEC exposes me to so many new ways of thinking and reading the same passages I have read before. With the wide variety of speakers that attend it’s almost impossible to leave without a new perspective. It’s a constant reminder that there are always ways to grow, and that helps me to turn inwards every day, to look at how I can grow in Spirit, grow in fruit, and really show the God I claim to follow through my daily actions, not just through my words.
10. In three words, how would you describe your KEC 2025 experience?
Refreshing, impactful, life-changing.
Fear has become a significant part of everyday life for many people. Despite our technological advancements, rise in living standards, and increases in lifespan, there always seems to be more to fear every day.
One of the most repeated commands of God to His people is “Fear Not!”. Are Christians meant to take this command seriously? If yes, then how do we do it?
Life can be full of challenges, threats, struggles and griefs. Some are over quickly; others can last a lifetime. So how do we handle those in a way that honours our Lord: trusting and obeying Him through our fears?
Only the truth of God—revealed in His word and the life, death and resurrection of His Son—speaks to life as it really is. It speaks not just to fear and pain, but to promise, hope and the victory of light over darkness.
Join us next Easter for what will be, God willing, a powerful encouragement to trust Almighty God more. Registrations are OPEN.
