Video Transcript: Planning a Women's Retreat

Drawbacks: Price. Since hotels provide many services, they will be one of your most expensive options. In most hotels, you must use the hotel catering for your meals (unless you plan to leave the property) and that can consume nearly half your budget on its own. You will also need to plan for tipping the staff that assists you in the course of the event.

Christian Campgrounds - These locations are used by youth groups and Christian summer camps. But, throughout the year, they will often rent out their cabins to other ministry groups and churches. Most of these camps are set up with a meeting space that has one or two dorm or bunkhouse style rooms for sleeping. They will also have a mess hall for your main meals and occasionally may have a small camp store that carries snacks and toiletries.

Benefits: The bunkhouses will sleep quite a few women, 20-40, and you are most often renting the space not the beds. Therefore, your lodging costs are a flat rate for the number of cabins you need to rent. However, you will pay per person for the meals, if the camp is providing them. Some camps will allow you to handle your food needs, but they may not permit an outside catering service. You will need to inquire if the cabin has a full kitchen or not.

Drawbacks: These types of campgrounds are usually outside of major cities. Therefore, you can expect to travel. You will need to decide if you are going to charter a bus or carpool. Be sure to discuss parking with the camp, as limited spaces may make carpooling a requirement. If your group is small and only taking up a few cabins, you may find that there are other events on the property at the same time. Sleeping accommodations in most of these camps are bunk beds, which require you to bring your bedding. This fact may also impact which ladies from your church can attend due to age, health, or physical concerns. If you use the camp catering, you may find it harder to meet any dietary restrictions when it comes to the menu, but you might also have the option to provide those alternate meals yourself. This will vary from camp to camp. You will also be limited to the number of people each cabin or bunk house can hold. You wouldn't want to rent another 40 person cabin for ten extra people. You will also have to set up your meeting spaces; the camp is relatively hands off.

Vacation Homes - If you have a small group, under 20, consider looking into vacation homes. These locations will have a flat weekend rental price, but you will be limited to the number of people the house or cabin will comfortably sleep. There are vacation rental home websites that you can use to search for properties based on the number of people you need to house and the price you would like to spend. You can sometimes find cabins that are right next to each other or smaller houses that you can book together. Don't let the size surprise you; they are often unexpectedly affordable when you break it down to the per person price. You will also have a full kitchen, should you decide to prepare the meals yourselves or use a caterer.

Benefits: Affordable, usually found on a beach or lake front or local to touristy areas that your attendees can visit during down time. These locations may have swimming pools, hot tubs, and media rooms to use during down time. Frees up your budget for other elements for the retreat.

Drawbacks: There will not be formal meeting rooms, with tables and chairs. Expect to pile into the living room or sit on the patio for your group sessions. Sleeping arrangements can also be awkward as inevitably you'll end up with four women in a kid's themed room with bunk beds while the other ladies are in regular rooms with regular beds.

Each of these locations is perfect for retreats, but your choice will impact your budget, the amount of planning time, set-up and clean-up time, etc.

When planning a retreat, it is easy to allow the details to get away from you, and, therefore, it is important to have a stated budget. It is also easy to let the down time and fun overtake your time with God; you must be very intentional about keeping this event gospel-centered. A conference by it's very nature is going to have more Scripture, worship and focus on God. Weekend getaways can frankly get away from us quickly.

This fact is why having a retreat committee is crucial to the process. This team may be comprised of women from the women's ministry team, but it may also include women from your church who are gifted with talents towards these types of events. Not only do they want to be involved, but it is also a great way for the team and the church to let every woman know that she has something valuable to contribute.

Your committee is going to be comprised of a leader who spearheads the planning and women with an assortment of spiritual gifts. If you don't already have a prayer team praying for the retreat, make sure you include that in your committee assignments.

A committee structure might be:

• Committee Chair /Head/Leader - oversees all positions and functions of the committee

• Prayer Team Leader - prays over the retreat and leads the prayer team during the retreat

• Publicity Leader - assembles brochures and fliers, submits church and Facebook announcements, etc

• Speaker Coordinator - finds and coordinates the speakers for the event, tends to the speaker at the retreat

• Worship Leader - plans the worship time, which includes finding singers/musicians, printing lyric sheets, finding music for other presentation times, and tending to the worship performers during retreat

• Tech Team - coordinates the audio-visual needs for the event, hires tech team, learns tech, etc.;

• Treasurer /Finances - collects money for the event, keeps track of the budget, receipts, reimbursements, etc.

• Registration/Name Tag Coordinator - prepares the event ID's and signs women into the retreat as they arrive, and distributes any conference materials needed

• Gifts and Door Prize Coordinator - obtains any prizes or gifts to be given away during the retreat

• Decorations Coordinator - if there is any decorating to do, will plan it and put together a volunteer list to execute the plan

• Games and Activities - plans icebreakers, group activities, and optional activities (anything "fun” being offered)

• Food and Beverages - coordinates with the location about the menu and prepares the DIY menu for meals, snacks, beverages, and other needs

• Accommodation Coordinator - arranges the lodging for attendees, guest speakers, etc.

• Break Out Session/Small Group Leader - coordinates any structured learning or discussion time outside of the general sessions

• General Session Leader - arranges for the meeting spaces, seating charts, the order of events, etc.

There may be specific positions that need to be added based on your event location or needs.

• Follow Up Team - makes response cards to follow up with the ladies after the retreat, or they may review and compile data from end of event surveys

• Retail Sales Person/Team - in some instances, if you hire in a speaker who is an author, may have books she'd like to bring for sale. Sometimes, speakers will bring their assistant to sell the merchandise. Or, they may use a volunteer from your ministry team. Please make sure this is something you are comfortable with and your church approves. And, let your attendees know this will be available. If the speaker isn't allowed to sell books at the retreat or conference, you may find the speaker fee is raised.

Conferences tend to be more formal, and you will likely hire in at least a keynote speaker. However, retreats are more intimate and are often filled with personal testimonies from women in the church. I have experienced retreats with paid speakers, with speakers from the church itself, and a mixture of both. The question is: which fits your theme and purpose of the retreat best?

You might also find that due to the location you select, it may make more sense to combine some of the suggested committee positions and some may not be needed at all. The simpler you make the process the better for everyone.

Due to tourist and wedding seasons, seasonal rates, and the size of your group, it is important that you begin this process early. Even if your group is small, if you want to ensure you can hold your event during a particular month, you can't wait until the last minute. Most retreat planners will suggest eight months. For myself, I wait about two or three weeks after the current year's retreat has concluded and start working toward the next one.

When you begin your planning stages early, it also gives plenty of notice to the women in the church. They may need to move a vacation day, start budgeting for the registration, or arrange for childcare. It also affords the ministry the opportunity to put together an installment payment plan, which I have found very practical for larger expense events.

Once you have the basics (date, location, theme, price), start promoting. Have a women's brunch to announce the retreat and use this as a time to sign up volunteers for the event. It also ensures that your information will be included on the church website and in Sunday bulletins in plenty of time for the women in the church to invite coworkers, friends and family members. I also encourage the women's ministry team to pray over ten particular people that God lays on their heart to personally invite to the retreat.

Something your team will want to consider, as well, is: do we want only to invite our church and women they know, or do we want to extend an invitation to other local churches who might be interested? Do we want to publicize it on the radio or in the local paper? I would recommend not taking on more than you can handle. If this is your first event, keep it small and personal, and allow it to grow naturally. Eventually, you will find yourself able to handle a much larger function. A one-day retreat might be a great starting point for a small ministry as a first-time retreat, or even for a ministry in an area that is struggling financially. While the steps are the same, you are filling in a shorter schedule, and working with a simpler budget. Often single day retreats can be held in your church, but if you need a larger space, look into local Women's Clubs, Recreation Centers and rental halls in your community.

Final thoughts, if you have been considering putting on a retreat for the women in your church, but you are uncertain, talk to other women's ministry leaders. Is there a church that is already planning one? Ask if you could sit in on their planning meetings and shadow their team as they go through the process. It might be something you can accomplish over a lunch or coffee meeting, where the other leader can give you some pointers and share their experiences. Or purchase a retreat kit, as I mentioned earlier since they will give you a step by step guide to executing a successful event.