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 Home : Retreats : Planning an Effective Retreat
Retreat ministry has a long standing history in accomplishing the mission of the
church. Churches have used special events and retreats for outreach, in order to
present the good news of Jesus Christ in a non-threatening, natural environment.
More recently, retreats are being used for in-depth group building and learning
experiences, from doctrine to life skills - retreats are effective in creating a
concentrated learning and growing experience. Strategic planning retreats, including
getting away with an elder group or church board for prayer, fasting and seeking
direction from God are also highly effective in impacting the growth of your church.
Whatever your purpose, a properly planned and implemented retreat can yield high
dividends for your church or para-church group!
The following page offers some pointers that will help to ensure your time and money
invested in a retreat experience will be well placed.
Let's have a retreat! Sounds like a good idea.
- A retreat is a chance for encounter with self, with God, with other people, with
creation, with issues.
- A retreat is, literally, a "strategic withdrawal." When we retreat, it is not for
the purpose of just getting away and staying away. Everything involved in getting
away, and all that is done while away, involves coming back. We go to the mountains
not to see mountains, but to see the valleys in new perspective.
- On a retreat we hope to deepen our relationship with God, to look at our lives - deliberately
focusing on issues and questions through reflection and meditation and discussion
and dialogue with others - in order to come back with a renewed sense of direction
for living.
- Jesus modeled this pattern of engagement and withdrawal, and it is instructive for
contemporary disciples as well.
- Retreats deepen the fellowship of a community through shared experiences and can
helpfully focus the energy of a group, whether your purpose is to do planning, problem
solving, team building, or to tackle a topic of interest or concern.
Are you planning for
- Members of the church only?
- Members of your church and their invited guests?
- Members of several churches in your area?
- Any interested people in y our community?
Remember, people attend what they help to plan, so if you're looking to reach a
larger audience that just your established group, invite and involve others to assist
in planning for the retreat as well. Don't just invite them once all the planning
is done!
Make sure to check school calendars for concerts, big games, tests, and so on that
would affect the attendance of your particular audience. Look also at times when
in-service days or other days might allow for a possible new pattern - like a Thursday
evening through Saturday, for instance, or a Sunday afternoon through Monday night.
Some adult groups have found that creating an alternative of interest to some people
while others are involved in a major cultural event (the Super Bowl, Mother's Day,
prom, a big tourist event in your town) is a worthwhile and much appreciated ministry.
As you plan for your retreat, there are many things to keep in mind. You'll find
helful input from your conference camp/retreat ministry leaders - don't hesitate
to ask for ideas that work well or considerations that are especially helpful at
the site you are using. Many people have asked us for a checklist to guide their
planning. Here is a topical list, then a timeline, and finally some tips from experienced
leaders - offered to assist you.
Retreat Planning Checklist
___ Reasons for having a retreat
___ Goals for this retreat
___ Theme
___ Dates
___ Location
___ Leaders
___ Activities and program components
___ Contingency plans
___ Meals
___ Finances
___ Schedule
___ Transportation
___ Snacks
___ Policies
___ Publicity
___ Registration
___ Evaluation
___ Other:
A retreat is an intentional time apart to experience a new awareness of the presence
of God. It is an opportunity to get some distance and see things in perspective.
It requires a pace that is unhurried and conducive to rest and relaxation in order
to come back with a renewed sense of living as disciples of Christ.
6-12 months ahead
- Determine the reason for this retreat.
- Appoint a coordinator and form a retreat-planning team.
- Pray for guidance, direction, and purpose.
- Write down the objectives for the group sponsoring the retreat.
- Choose a theme based upon the purpose of the retreat.
- Write down the specific objectives for the actual retreat.
- Write down the major blocks of time and activities.
- Include food preparation, if needed.
- Check these against objectives.
- Look at your church calendar for when a retreat could best be held; choose the best
time considering other schedules as well.
- Choose the best facility for your purpose; make sure deposit is paid; confirm reservations.
- Choose leader(s) or resource person(s) for your theme.
OR - You can let a specific person choose topics, based on your objectives.
- Decide honorarium based on fees and expenses if a visiting leader is chosen.
- Begin promotion - communicate excitement about objectives, dates, schedule as known.
2-3 months ahead
- Saturate all aspects of planning with prayer!
- Keep promoting via bulletins, news, mailings, handouts, and word of mouth.
- You will need to communicate the following:
- specific information, including objectives
- registration fees and deadlines (consider collecting registration with a deposit
so participants will commit to the time away and you'll have funds to pay facility
deposit or program supplies ahead of time)
- itinerary with the time schedule
- Visit the site, if possible, to familiarize yourself, particularly if you haven't
been there before.
1 month ahead
- Keep praying.
- Keep publicizing through bulletins, news, mailings, handouts, and word of mouth.
- Assign specific tasks to teams.
- Orient, train, and motivate leaders/teams.
- Give clear job expectations to leaders.
- Be clear with leaders about time commitments.
- Follow-up with individuals regarding their progress on tasks assigned.
- Familiarize your leaders with the facility use agreement and relevant policies.
2-3 weeks ahead
- Continue to pray.
- Keep publicizing, ESPECIALLY by word of mouth.
- If cooking food, plan meals based on registrations.
- Hand out itinerary and things to bring.
- Check in with leaders about progress with their areas.
1 week ahead
- Pray some more!
- If you need to, meet with planning committe once more to finalize.
Retreat
- Enjoy!
- Have a time of reflection and feedback with participants.
- Hand out evaluations before closing program.
Post Retreat
- Meet with planning committee to go over evaluations.
- Make note of what worked and what didn't for the next time.
- Follow-up with individuals to continue meeting your objectives.
- Personal contact via word of mouth is the BEST promotion!
- Choose atleast three people to invite people individually.
- When deciding price, give scholarships instead of lowering price.
- Budget for a positive balance (i.e., charge $5 extra to cover unexpected expenses.)
- Usually 24-48 hours is typical for length of retreat - but it can be more or less.
- Be sure to allow for flexibility, spontaneity. Be open to the Spirit!
- Over-plan (plan for more than you'll actually include in any one event) so there
are no lapses, but allow for flexibility.
- Allow time for worship, unstructured time, input, reflection, and reaction. Individual
sessions should be 90 minutes maximum.
- Always plan optional strategies in case of a change of circumstances (i.e. weather
factors).
- Choose a site that is not too far away and not too close - it's good to have a sense
of being apart from your usual setting.
- The site should match your objectives for gathering.
- Be able to specify what kind of space you need (spaces for gathering the whole group
together, as well as breakout spaces for small-group activities, for example.)
- Consider the number of people desirable for your particular objectives. Bigger is
not necessarily better.
- Touch base with your planning committee at least once during the retreat to review
schedule and process and make any adjustments required.
- If approrpiate, offer classes or groups for follow-up after the retreat.
This retreat planning guide was originally published in: Camp and Retreat Memo,
published by the National Camp and Outdoor Retreat Committee & the General Board
of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, Summer 2003.
For information on planning a Junior High Retreat -
download this excellent guide from www.cadreministries.com.
There are also several books that include tips for planning effective retreats...click
on this book title for one example.
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