How to Plan A Girls Retreat
How to Plan a Girl’s Ministry Retreat
By Bethany Herron
An entire weekend with all of your girls? Yes, please.
If you are anything like me, the idea of spending a weekend investing in the lives of your female students is exciting. However, that initial excitement is often overtaken when I realize that I actually have to PLAN the retreat.
Whether you’ve been “voluntold” to plan a girl’s ministry weekend or simply feel led by the Lord to intentionally invest in your girls, planning a retreat can seem like a daunting task. I want to encourage you to put aside the excuses and take ownership of this opportunity you’ve been given.
Keep it Gospel-Centered
First things first. Your girls need Jesus, more than they need a fun weekend. As you are planning, remember that this is a great chance for them to get away and get quiet with the Lord. No matter the theme you choose or the games you plan, be sure to speak to their hearts. Use this as an opportunity to share the love, grace, and redemption of Jesus Christ with their needy hearts.
You can give them a fun weekend and good food that will ultimately leave them hungry. Or, you can pour into them the love of Christ that will leave them satisfied and longing for more.
Picking an Event Leadership Team
Before you begin planning, you need to assemble your team. Make a list of possible leaders and begin praying over each one of them. If you are having trouble making a list consider asking the following: current youth leaders, moms of students, older women in the church, or college students from local Christian colleges.
Send out an email or text asking each lady to pray over the possibility of serving on the team. Then, schedule a few planning dates with those who want to get involved. At your first meeting, you can spend time praying, planning, and delegating tasks according to each woman’s gifting.
Side note: It’s also important to have each woman complete a background check at the first meeting.
The following sections will be helpful to go over with your leadership team. Don’t plan this alone. Allow the body of Christ to step up and make much of Christ through serving.
The Budget
Take a look at how much money you have budgeted for this event. As you plan, you want to keep all costs accounted for – travel, food, lodging, fun, giveaways, shirts, college student helpers, etc. Most events charge a minimal fee for attendees. Will you charge a fee to cover cost differences? If so, will there be scholarships available?
Where & When?
When to have your event goes hand in hand with your where. You need to be sure that your event facility is available on the dates you pick. Pull out the school calendar to see when your students are available. Then look at venues. Does your youth room work? Is there somewhere local to rent out like a Christian campground or a large cabin? What about space for games? Be sure to also think about food, lodging and overall costs when considering a host facility.
What will be the focus/theme of your weekend?
When planning a girl’s retreat, themes are very important. It might seem silly, but going all out on decorations is another way to show your girls that they are important to you. So, sit down and dream. What is your vision for the entire weekend? What has God placed on your heart to share with these girls? Pray and ask for direction, before you head to Pinterest or Google.
One popular theme for girl’s ministry retreats is glamping – glam camping.
Décor: DIY blanket tents, sleeping bags, cute lights, walking-taco bar…the list goes on.
Gift: Give each girl a customized Nalgene with the church logo on it.
Activities: Photo booth, s’more’s, group games, spa room
Theme Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
Weekend Speaker & Worship Leader
A girl’s retreat is a great time to bring in a guest speaker. If the budget allows and you feel lead, invite a guest speaker in. Be sure it is someone who shares your heart for reaching these girls with the Gospel. Bringing in a fresh voice can make the weekend more engaging for your students.
Another important aspect to consider is the worship leader. Worship through song is a great way to set the tone for spending time in God’s Word. Find someone through your church or a local college campus who has a heart for worship to lead your group.
Planning the Weekend Schedule
If you don’t have a set weekend schedule, students will quickly lose their engagement. Plan out everything, but make it fun from the moment they step foot in the door. Play music in the background. Set out grab bags on their chairs, filled with goodies, swag, a schedule and a nametag. Do fun giveaways and games. Have a hashtag for the weekend – students love it. You want to be sure to utilize the time you have with these girls – make it fun, engaging, and impactful.
Decide on Food
Girls love to eat. Be sure to plan in lots of snack throughout the weekend, as well as substantive meals. Church members love to step in with donations, so create an sign-up list early on to try and relieve some of the food costs.
Make sure there is a place on registration forms for parents to list food allergies.
Open Registration ASAP
Advertise early. Use social media, group texts, invite cards and fliers. Also, be sure to send out save the date cards. Parents need time to put the girl’s retreat on their calendar. Hopefully, your girl’s ministry event will make it on the calendar before another event fights for that day.
Open registration on your advertised date. Ideally, this is two-three months before the event. Online registration is easiest for everyone. Programs, such as planning center, are easy to use and keep all of your registration information organized.
Print Out the Checklist and Get to Work
There is obviously a lot that goes into planning a girl’s ministry retreat. I have taken everything in this article and made it into an easy to use checklist for your ministry leadership team. There is also a fill-in PDF flier for you to use. Feel free to use it or create your own.
I want to leave you with this. Our culture is constantly speaking lies to our girls. In a world telling our young women that they have all they need in themselves, we need to be showing them that they have nothing without the overwhelming love of Christ. Girl’s weekends are a way to speak directly to their hearts. I pray that you use this opportunity to show them that they are loved, cared for, and valued by you, your leaders, and the Lord!