Are you in charge of planning your ministry’s next retreat? Are you stuck with trying to figure out what theme you want your retreat to be centered around? Here are some helpful tips we’ve come up with in hopes that it’ll inspire your creativity and effectively choose a theme!
- Identify what type of retreat you’re having: men’s, women’s, family, or youth (this may seem obvious, but it’s the first step in choosing a theme!).
- Choose a date for your retreat (if you haven’t already).
- Ask your pastor or leader of your ministry if they have a specific theme in mind (if you’re not already in leadership).
- It’s important to discuss with your pastor/leader what season they believe your ministry’s in, currently, and where they perceive your ministry will go. What God has been revealing to them in the past weeks, months, or even year might help shape the overall theme.
- Pray and ask the Lord for a verse or passage of Scripture for you.
- Open up your Bible and wait/listen for the Lord to speak.
- Listen to different messages/sermons from your church’s previous services and write down anything that stands out to you.
- Go over any notes you’ve written down from your personal devotions.
- Once you have a verse, choose a phrase from that verse to be your theme.
God may not give you your theme right away - it may take a few days, or even a week for you to solidify what your retreat’s theme should be. Once you have it, confer with leadership and begin prepping decorations, flyers, graphics, and any other necessary promotional information.
Another thing to start praying about after choosing a theme is your keynote session speaker(s). There are some people that will be able to teach better on a certain theme than others - keeping your theme in mind, discuss who would best fit teaching a session or workshop for your retreat. As soon as you compile a list of guests, contact them immediately with the dates of your retreat and your heart behind the theme. The sooner you get in touch with them, the greater the chance they’ll be able to attend your retreat.
For more tips and tricks on retreat planning, read our post about our planning schedule! This’ll answer any sort of questions you might have of deadlines and whatnot.