Blog - Page 18 of 65 - Retreat-in-a-Bag 18

Wisdom in Scheduling Your Retreat

Posted by Debby on September 23, 2014

We learned the hard way that before booking your speaker for your retreat on a certain date, you should have done at least some preliminary checking for availability. If there is a big event in your city, it could be that hotels are already booked or expecting to be booked to capacity, even when you are planning ahead. Don’t assume that since you are planning nine months ahead of time that you are ahead of the game. Others plan ahead too. And as always, prices are higher when the demand is higher!

Consider our experience.

It is not that hard to find a block of hotel rooms to book for our retreat. But Dallas has a few big events that max out our hotel capacity. And even if the hotels aren’t completely booked, the roads can be a mess in certain directions due to the event. One of those event is Dallas is the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament. While we no longer have spring women’s retreats, if we did, we would be sure to work around that busy weekend.

Posted in: Lessons Learned, News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning, Starting Points in Retreat Planning

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The Unsung Heroes

Posted by Debby on September 16, 2014

In the women’s ministry, as in any body of believers, there are the visible and less visible parts. To the observer, it may seem that those who are seen–leading worship, speaking, leading discussion–provide the most necessary services. But as in the human body, the vital and necessary functions are those that are less visible. Our body would come to a standstill, literally, without the function of those hidden parts–organs such as the heart and lungs.

Today I want to give a high five to our unsung heroes. The women’s ministry couldn’t function properly without those unseen and behind-the-scenes ladies. These ladies come in early to set up and get the coffee brewing. They move chairs, prepare food, clean up afterwards. They are prayer warriors, supporting the ministry from their prayer closet. Their names and faces may not be known, but they are every bit as appreciated and important to the ministry as those in the limelight.

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning

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Develop a Resource Notebook

Posted by Debby on September 9, 2014

Planning our women’s Christmas event last year was difficult, and here’s why. We had an early November retreat which had us all very busy at the time when we should have been finding and reserving a venue or meeting space and caterer. Obviously, we were at fault for waiting too late to start the process; however, the job would have been infinitely easier if we had had a resource listing restaurants and hotels with private meeting spaces, and information specific to those locations.

So, this year, we are developing a resource notebook, doing the research ahead of time for venues and caterers. As we run into venues that are a possibility for a women’s event, we are filling out an information sheet that will be put in our resource notebook. This informations sheet contains information such as contact information, number of people the room can hold, type of tables, holiday decorations, rental charge and any extra fees (sound, etc.) Obviously, prices may change and are dependent on other factors. However, we can have at our fingertips notes on the number the venue can handle with tables and chairs, basic room rental charges, extra charges, what decorations do they provide-fun facts that would help us determine if a venue would be appropriate for our needs.

Take a look at our Venue Catering Information Sheet. We may revise it as we use it more. Do you have any suggestions?

Posted in: Location, Location, Location, News & Information, Resources, Retreat and Event Planning

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My Soapbox | Are we entertaining or empowering?

Posted by Debby on September 2, 2014

I’m going to get up on my soapbox for a moment.

I know there is a place for fun and fellowship in women’s ministry. But as I do research online for women’s ministry, sometimes the emphasis seems to be games, crafts and entertaining the women. The www.retreatinabag.net website was originally created to share skits for women’s ministry, so obviously we encourage entertainment…but only so far as it helps you reach your goal of sharing and applying the Word of God and bringing your women closer to God.

Here is my “bold” statement regarding any women’s event: If your priority and focus is not the Word of God, you are just spinning your wheels and going nowhere. Fun and fellowship are wonderful, but it is the Word of God that will transform lives.

Posted in: Ingredients for a Great Retreat, Inspirations, News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning

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Saturday Night Solution

Posted by Debby on August 26, 2014

Your speaker sessions have finished for the day, a delicious dinner has been enjoyed, and now night is falling.

Instead of giving your women the “night off,” seize the opportunity to provide a great evening of fun and fellowship!

This particular year our retreat was at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina instead of our usual trek to the beach. Our team needed to come up with a low-cost, fun activity that would meet the needs of 80 women ranging from their early 20’s into their 80’s.

In our pre-retreat information letter we asked our women to bring a fun pair of slippers and requested they wear them Saturday evening. We didn’t give them any further details.

One of the members of our planning team came up with the Slipper Contest categories and certificates – the wildest slippers, most comfortable, silliest, etc. We had a total of 5 or 6 categories in all.

When we gathered in the auditorium on Saturday evening we passed out the category list to every woman. Those that were interested in competing modeled their slippers on the stage for all to see. Our emcee really talked up each model and their slippers. We made sure we said each name multiple times so our judges could fill in their ballots completely.

We tallied the ballots and put names on our certificates while we showed the comedy DVD “Thinking Out Loud” by Anita Renfroe. It was so funny! We laughed so hard we cried.

Not only did we bond and laugh over the funny things in the video, but we all shared in the experience of the Slipper Contest. Was it a little silly and cheesey? Yes, but our goal of bonding and laughter was met with great success!

Cyndee Ownbey blogs over at Women’s Ministry Toolbox and is passionate about helping other Women’s Ministry Leaders reach and encourage women in their church and community. She and her husband, two sons (12 and 15), and miniature schnauzer, Heidi, recently relocated to the Charlotte, NC area. When she’s not gathering and gleaning great ministry ideas you can find her trying out new recipes or immersed in her latest Christian fiction pick.

Posted in: Little Things Make a Big Difference!, News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning

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