Five Questions with 30s leaders

30s leaders (left to right): Rafa, Flavia, Fernanda, and Adrien.

Last year, the 30s/Young Professionals group was started at Redeemer to create a community for people navigating faith and life after their studies. In this dynamic season of life—shaped by dating, marriage, children, and growing careers—the group comes together to reflect on how faith fits into it all.

In this interview, the four leaders share what happens at the monthly gatherings, the topics they discuss, and how they’ve seen God at work over the past year.

1.Please tell us a bit about you – where are you from, and how did you come to live in The Netherlands? 

Flavia & Rafa: We are originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and we moved to Maastricht in 2021 for Flavia’s master’s in sustainability. We thought we would be here only for a year, but the Lord changed our plans completely and told us to make a home in this foreign land :)

Adrien & Fernanda: Adrien is from Belgium, and lives there. He came to the Netherlands originally for work. Fernanda is from Mexico and came to the Netherlands two years ago to do her master's.

You four are co-leading the 30s/Young Professionals group. Please tell us a bit more about the group and why it got started. 

Fernanda: The 30s Group started with the desire to create a space for people in their 30s to build meaningful community, grow in their faith, and navigate this season of life together.

We meet regularly to share time together, have open and honest conversations, and explore real-life topics through a Christian perspective. Our gatherings usually include fellowship, a short teaching or discussion (often with guest speakers), and time for reflection or prayer. We also organize social moments, workshops, and occasional retreats to grow both spiritually and relationally. It’s a space where people can feel welcome, supported, and encouraged as they do life together.

What are some of the topics you’ve discussed, and what are the get-togethers like?

Adrien: We’ve touched on various topics such as friendship, mental health, finances and relationships. We have on our hearts to talk about practical topics we all face in our Christian walk.

Our gatherings typically start with a welcome, prayer and ice breaker. This is followed by the talk of the day, which is led by someone of the group or by a guest. We try to keep it interactive and give space for people to express their view. We try to find a good balance so it feels less like a lecture (we meet on Friday evening, after all) and more like a collaborative discussion. We aim to build up one another through sharing our views and experiences. We end with a time of fellowship as one of our main goals is to build a community within our age group at Redeemer.

Now that you’ve been up and running for about a year, how have you seen God working through this group?

Flavia: We read in Genesis God’s judgement about every thing He created: After creating light, He saw that it was good. After separating water from dry land, He saw that it was good. After creating the moon, sun, stars, vegetation, living creatures, and man… He saw that it was all good. But among every thing that God judged as good, there was one thing that He judged as “not good” - it is not good for man to be alone (Gn 2:18). 

We were created in the image of a relational God to be in relationship with Him and with His creation. In this past year in the 30s, I have seen God working through our relationships, teaching us the beauty of community. He has given us the opportunity to grow deeper in relationship with Him and with one another. As people come to share a reflection or to join the discussions by willing to be vulnerable, the Lord has been using this time of fellowship to teach us more about our identity as His children.

What are some things that you’re looking forward to as the 30s group, and how can others get involved?

Rafa: We are a group of young professionals seeking to build meaningful connections with others who are in a similar stage of life. We’re excited to engage in honest conversations about the challenges and questions we face in this season, and we believe there’s no better way to do that than by exploring different topics in light of the gospel of Christ.

At the same time, we want to cultivate a strong support network and deep relationships where we can walk alongside one another and offer encouragement in this journey.

You can be part of this by intentionally investing in relationships, but also by getting involved—helping with the setup of our gatherings, suggesting new topics or events, and supporting the leadership in creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed, grows, and connects more deeply.

Thank you for sharing, 30s leaders!