Abide Gathering 2026
JULY 5-8, 2026
THE HENRY HOTEL IN DEARBORN, MI
> Friendships built on openness
> Refreshing perspectives on faith & identity
> A place that feels like home
Registration will open in early 2026.
If you have any questions, please email events@abidegathering.org.
OVERVIEW FAQs CHILDCARE YOUTH CAMP ACTIVITIES
Join us at Abide 2026!
Our annual gathering is a guided experience focused on learning, growth, and healing through meaningful connection, storytelling, and embodied practices. Come meet others who share your cultural background and desire to live wholeheartedly. Leave feeling seen, known, and cared for.
Abide is not a traditional church retreat or faith-based conference.
People who attend Abide say they have never experienced or seen anything like it. To our knowledge, a community like this does not exist elsewhere for our audience, and we are excited to invite you to be part of building something new at Abide.
What you’ll experience at the Abide Gathering:
Thought-provoking content — Past topics include redefining success beyond performance-based faith, the impact of generational trauma in the church, learning from sabbatical journeys, discerning which family legacies to carry forward, and why storytelling is sacred
Deep connection and conversation through sharing our stories
Multicultural, soulful, and embodied worship led by Aisea Taimani
Peer and intergenerational friendships with people from diverse backgrounds, professions, and cultures
Shared experiences, including discovering and doing practices that embody abiding with God
Having fun together while exploring Detroit’s food scene, playing pickleball, and visiting Detroit cultural institutions
Fun-filled days for kids and youth while making new friends (learn more about our childcare and youth camp)
“At Abide, I felt seen, heard, connected, embodied, embraced, and whole. I felt a deep, deep sense of belonging. I didn't have to explain the context of my lived experience—people just knew, and that made me feel like I could rest easy. I felt connected to God in the most authentic version of myself, something I've never experienced anywhere else or in any other community. To be able to worship God out of a sense of wholeness was liberating. Abide gives me hope for the Asian American faith community. Abide is life-giving. Abide is necessary. Abide is healing.”
—Abide Gathering attendee
Abide Gathering exists to encourage Asian Christians towards flourishing and deep relationships with God and others. Our annual retreat is an invitation-only event where we cultivate openness and connection through thought-provoking content, shared experiences, and small group conversations. We create welcoming and safe spaces for learning and storytelling — where honesty, humility, and vulnerability are the norm.
At Abide, we invite you to come as you are—your whole, unfiltered self—and experience profound acceptance from the community. It’s a place where we start conversations with where are you from and how did you come to be at Abide, so that we can experience each other first as human beings with unique and powerful stories.
If you value deep connections and are open to personal growth, ready to share your life experiences, and can listen with openness and understanding, we'd love for you to join us this summer! For more information about Abide Gathering, or who might benefit the most from it, check out our FAQs or email us to connect with someone on our team.
About Abide Gathering
If you’re wondering if Abide Gathering is for you:
We've found that the attendees that benefit the most are those who value deep connections with others and are open to personal growth, ready to share their life experiences, and listen with openness and understanding.
Our gathering brings together people from diverse backgrounds, professions, and cultures. We especially value the friendships that are formed across age groups, and feel that Abide is particularly well-suited for those in their mid-20s and beyond, when life experiences can add deeper meaning to the conversations and connections formed here.
In order to create a welcoming, distraction-free environment, we discourage solicitation of any kind during our annual gathering and within our community afterward, including requesting funding for nonprofit or for-profit ventures.
To learn more about Abide and the annual gathering:
Check out our Event FAQ
Visit our About page to learn more about our origin story and core values
Still unsure about whether Abide is for you? If you would like to speak with someone on the Abide leadership team before registering, please let us know at events@abidegathering.org.
Dates and Times
Sunday, July 5, 2026 to Wednesday, July 8, 2026
New this year: An invitation to arrive on July 4 for extra time together and to ease into the gathering with an unhurried heart
July 4: You're invited to arrive a day early on Saturday, July 4 to give yourself the gift of extra connection, rest, and having plenty of time to acclimate. It's like the difference your worship experience makes when you arrive to church early vs. getting there late or right as it starts. In addition to a growing number of attendees already doing this, arriving early also helps avoid travel delays that come up every year.
Many attendees (both adults and kids!) also shared in last year's survey that you wished our gathering was longer. For those arriving on Saturday, we will offer low-key optional activities, including meet ups, options for youth, and our annual dinner at the Yemeni restaurant that attendees always rave about. If you are unable to come earlier, don't worry - this is optional and we know that you will still have a memorable and impactful week!
July 5:
Registration is open from 3:30-5:30 pm. Please plan to arrive at The Henry Hotel no later than the 4 pm published hotel check-in time as our event programming will officially begin with a 5:30 pm welcome reception and dinner.
First-time attendees: You’re invited to an optional newcomers orientation before the 5:30 pm welcome reception and dinner.
July 8: We will officially close the event with morning worship that will end at 10:30 am. We encourage you to book flights from DTW to leave no earlier than 12:30 pm. Hotel check out time is 11:00 am.
There are usually informal gatherings scheduled for those leaving late, including lunch after the event ends.
Location and Lodging
Google Map location: The Henry Hotel
The Abide Gathering will be held at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, MI. We have worked with The Henry to extend our discounted rates to you should you desire to extend your stay pre or post gathering.
2026 Rate: $129+tax/night from July 2, 2026 to July 9, 2026. Please note that the last day to book at this rate is June 15, 2026. Attendees, please check your registration confirmation email for the link to access this rate.
For those who are traveling alone and would like to share a room, there is a place to indicate that preference on our registration page.
The registration fee includes all programming and meals throughout the gathering for one attendee. The full cost for the gathering is over $1000 per person. Our generous donors make it possible for us to provide a subsidized registration fee so that attendees from diverse professions and ages can attend.
Registration Fees & Deadlines:
By March 31: $595
April 1 - May 15: $620
May 16 - June 7 (last day to register): $645
Cost
Travel Information
Once you have registered, please begin making travel arrangements to Dearborn, Michigan.
Airport/Local Transportation: The closest and most convenient airport is Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), which is a 15 minute drive to The Henry Hotel, where our gathering will be held. The Henry has free self-parking.
There are both rental cars and ride share options available from DTW to The Henry. We will connect attendees over WhatsApp to coordinate rides to and from the airport as the event draws near.
There will be off-site activity options and periods of non-programmed time during Abide Gathering. Attendees usually carpool and use ride-share options to go off site.
Arrival: We are encouraging attendees to arrive on Saturday, July 4 for extra time together (we will offer optional informal activities and dinner gathering on Saturday, July 4), but our event officially starts on Sunday, July 5. Registration begins at 3:30 pm on Sunday. Please plan to arrive at The Henry no later than 4 pm as our programming will begin promptly with a 5:30 pm reception (there is also an optional newcomers orientation right before this reception).
We will open registration at 3:30 pm on Sunday, July 5. Please plan to arrive at The Henry Hotel no later than the 4 pm hotel check-in time as our programming will begin promptly with a 5:30 pm welcome reception and dinner.
Departure: Our final morning on Wednesday, July 8, will include a meaningful time of worship to close the event, ending at 10:30 am. We encourage you to book flights from DTW to leave no earlier than 12:30 pm on the afternoon of July 8.
We are excited to offer both childcare and a youth day camp. We hope to see the next generation of Abiders connect with each other and form friendships. Both the youth camp and the childcare program will be based out of The Henry Hotel.
Children & Youth
The Abide Gathering is a guided, curated experience, with an agenda that includes speakers, worship, breakout conversations, workshops, and free time — all designed to provide opportunities for meaningful connection and conversation. The agenda below is the framework for our time together — details are omitted by design but will be available for attendees upon arrival.
Past Highlights
Topics that included integration and its importance in holistic healing and growth; a new definition of success after a lifetime of performing for God; journey and lessons of a sabbatical; the importance of emotional maturity to spiritual maturity; generational blessings and burdens; the cyclical, seasonal nature of growth
Practices that embody abiding with God (art and visio divina, attunement exercises, yoga)
Ample time for conversations and connection, rest, fun, play, and more
Saturday (option to arrive a day early)
You're invited to arrive a day early to give yourself the gift of extra connection, rest, and having plenty of time to acclimate. We will offer low-key optional activities, including meet ups, options for youth, and our annual dinner at the Yemeni restaurant that attendees always rave about. If you are unable to come earlier, don't worry - this is optional and we know that you will still have a memorable and impactful week!
Sunday (official event start day)
3:30 pm - Registration opens
~5 pm - Newcomer orientation (optional)
5:30 pm - Opening reception, dinner, and welcome
7:30 pm - Evening program
Monday
8:45 am - Morning program
1:30 pm - Afternoon program
3:00 pm - Free time
7:30 pm - Evening program
Tuesday
8:45 am - Morning program
12:30 pm - Lunch + Free time
4:45 pm - Optional free time activity
7:30 pm - Evening program
Wednesday
9:00 am - Closing program
10:30 am - Abide Gathering officially ends
Agenda Structure
How to Register
Registration for our next gathering will open in early 2026.
If you haven’t received an email about the gathering but are interested in joining us, we would love to connect with you. Contact us at events@abidegathering.org to connect with us. In your email, please let us know how you heard about us.
From Our Attendees