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Inclusive Pricing

I had the opportunity to chat with a pastor’s wife recently about retreats.  At the time, we were few weeks away from our 2013 retreat, and she had also been planning their women’s retreat–so we compared notes.  We are doing ours at a retreat campground, using their hotel on site.  Meals are provided, and we will be eating together with other groups in a dining hall.  Women are staying 2-3 per room.  Price for this retreat ranges from $125-145 per person for a two-night, four-meal retreat.

Her women had planned a weekend retreat about 350 miles away.  They were renting a bus for travel and hotel upon arrival.  Meals were to be determined when they arrived.  Their retreat cost was approximately $350 per person plus the cost of meals.

Now, I understand that different groups expect different things from a retreat.  And I’m sure their retreat will be lovely and a fun weekend away in a vacation locale.  But what comes to my mind is:  How many women can afford a retreat like that?  Are women being priced out of that retreat?

As you plan your retreat, it may be tempting to do something elaborate.  But consider this–is your pricing excluding women?  Could you change something so that it would include more of your women?

 

 

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

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Praying for One Another

images-1A primary ministry at our retreats should be making prayer available for those who need someone to pray with them. Our retreats should be a place where women feel comfortable asking for prayer.  The Bible clearly states that we should “pray one for another that you may be healed” (James 5:16b).  Our leaders, as well as other mature women should be on the lookout for those women who perhaps look upset, needing personal prayer. But we all know that women are very good at hiding their true needs.  So we also provide  opportunities during the retreat where women can go to specifically ask for prayer.  One is normally in the evening, during a time of worship and waiting on the Lord, where we have women available to pray. We normally have prayer circles set up around the room where a woman can go to ask privately for prayer.  Sometimes the semi-darkness of the evening makes asking for prayer easier.  But we have done similar set-ups during the day, where women are invited to go to a specified room at a certain time where women are available to pray with them, and we always have a response.

Posted in: Ingredients for a Great Retreat, Ministry at the Retreat, News & Information, Retreat and Event Planning, Starting Points in Retreat Planning

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Building Your Retreat Schedule (Part 2)

daily_scheduleOnce you have answered the questions in our last post, you can begin to draft your schedule.

If you are taking your meals at the venue, I would suggest giving the women an hour or more for breakfast and and hour to and hour and a half for meals.  This gives them time to eat and fellowship and freshen up if necessary, and get to the meeting room.  You will need to schedule more time if they are going off-site to eat.

With that in mind, begin your schedule.  On your blank piece of paper, pencil in the non-negotiables:  Check in/check out times, meal times, and anything else where the time is definite.  From there, you can put in the essential ingredients–worship, teaching sessions, workshops, skit(s), prayer time.  Any other less important activities should be scheduled after you have the essentials in place.

You will want to begin each session with a welcome and announcements.  Allow at least 15 minutes for these.

Worship should come before the teaching session, as worship prepared the women to hear from the Lord.  You will probably want to schedule a break for the women at least once every three hours, as a rule of thumb.

See other tips about your retreat schedule.

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

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Building Your Retreat Schedule (Part I)

Planning your retreat schedule can be a daunting task.  I have listed some questions below.  You should know the answers to these questions before you actually start putting anything down on paper.

  • What are the non-negotiable schedule components set up by retreat venue?  (i.e. time to check in/check-out, meal times)
  • How many sessions will your speaker teach?
  • How long should each teaching session be?  (Our suggestion is 45 minutes or less; more than that become a little much for your women; however, your speaker may have some input on that.)
  • A time of worship should be planned for each session, prior to the teaching.
  • What other components of the retreat need to be considered?  Will you have a skit? Book reviews? Prayer times? Testimonies? Communion? Free time activities? Ice breakers or games? Craft times?  Determine the amount of time needed for each of these extra components.
  • Don’t forget to include announcements, introductions (if needed) and breaks for your women!

 

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

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The Budget

As discussed in our previous blog, the budget is determined from the numbers used to determine your retreat price per person.  Having no budget money for the retreat may seem very limiting; however, God can do amazing things when we come to Him with our need.

The leader in charge of remembrance gifts has her budgeted amount per person that she can spend.  While $1 seems small,you can easily make a magnet for each lady to take home, as well as a bookmark. We have budgeted anywhere for $1 to $10 for the remembrance gift over the years.

The decorating allowance may seem low, but don’t underestimate the creativity and ingenuity of your women! Decorations can be minimalized by concentrating on focal point decorating. We also rely on borrowed items to complete our theme-related decorating–items that someone has in their home and allows us to use for the retreat.  Another option is to purchase decor which is then made available to your women to be purchased at the end of the retreat.

One of the main purposes of our website at www.retreatinabag.net is to encourage women’s ministries to find creative ways to work within their budgetary limitations.  Remember, God does not need to work within a budget!

 

 

Posted in: Decorations, Money-Saving Tips, Retreat and Event Planning, Retreat Remembrances, Starting Points in Retreat Planning

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