Planning a Marriage Booster Retreat at Your Church.
Pick a Date
If you have not yet chosen a date for your retreat, you will want to do so soon. Organizers usually schedule most retreats on a Saturday, starting around 9:15am (with a 9:30am start) and ending around 4:45pm (with the program wrapping up around 4:30pm). We have found this time to work well for couples who have children to get situated before the retreat. It also allows for them to go out for dinner after the retreat if they desire. Talk to the church staff to make sure there are no major conflicts on that date. Check with Family Fest for availability.
Reserve Your Space
Having the right environment is key to your retreat. Find a room that is comfortable and free of distractions. Some churches prefer to get away to a place that might be more conducive to this type of experience, such as a retreat center or banquet facility (hotels, golf course, etc.). Generally, we need about 16-18 square feet per person. Family Fest would be happy to give you suggestions of off-site facilities that could accommodate your group.
Choose a location that will have limited distractions. Look at a weekend where there are not a lot of other events scheduled at your church.
Develop a Team
Don’t do this alone! There are many people in your church who will share your passion for helping build strong marriages. Get them to commit to coming on the retreat and to invite others. These can be volunteers or leaders of other ministries in your church. This is a wonderful way to collaborate with various ministries in your church. Collaborations with adult ministries, youth ministries, and children’s ministry programs produce the best results.