Home > Small Groups
Key Components of a Leaders' Retreat
Here are 10 ways to make the most of your time together.
by Ken Godevenos
Assuming you've decided you want to achieve all purposes of a staff retreat—to work, rest, and spend time with God—here are some elements to build into the events:
1. Timing. Don't wait to have a perfect event planned, or one that will be scheduled a month in advance. The best staff retreats start when the leader says, "We need to get away at this time." Whatever the critical event or need, use the staff retreat like a general uses a high-level strategy meeting: to unite, pump up, and communicate with the troops.
2. Invitees. Not everyone needs to be there. Invite your key players and those with the greatest impact on the ministry team. More junior-level staff might not be ready for all this.
3. Rest. Every moment of every day away doesn't have to be planned. The best retreats I've attended allow considerable time for people to have their own devotions, read, go for walks, talk in pairs, or just sleep.
4. Prayer. Sometimes Jesus held his own personal retreat, which he filled with just one thing: prayer. His disciples, then and now, would do well to follow his example.
5. Go by yourselves. Jesus didn't invite the spouses or children of leaders to come along for the ride; he just invited the leaders. He knew his team needed no interruptions. Today, the best retreats are still held without others tagging along. They're not half-vacations—they're times for seeking God-given vision, strategy, or rest.
6. Location. Mark 6 says Jesus and his disciples went away in a boat to a lonely place for a time of spiritual refreshment. I know everyone can't go away in a boat, but every effort should be made to go to a "lonely place"—a place where God and his nature can be fully appreciated.
7. Publicity. Mark also says, "And the people saw them going. … " I'm not suggesting you put a public notice in the local paper, but I do recommend letting your congregation know (in a low-key manner) that you're heading off to plan, rest, pray, and listen to God. Ask people to pray for you and for what God might tell you personally and collectively. When you return, communicate some of what you've learned.
8. Goals. It's important that you're well prepared as a leader and have clear goals in mind—preferably communicated to your team before the retreat. You must know what you and your team need to accomplish during the time away and what you'll do with it afterwards. Establish priorities and stick to them. It's better to aim for a few key goals and get them done with time to spare than to aim for to many and only accomplish a few.
9. Leadership. Even if you're the greatest senior pastor since Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, or A. W. Tozer, that's no guarantee you're also a great retreat leader or facilitator. Consider calling in a specialist with group-facilitation skills if much decision-making or strategic planning is to be done.
10. Evaluate. Don't let your team leave the retreat without both a written assessment of the event (using a prepared questionnaire) and a verbal discussion of how you functioned as a team. Use this input for future retreats.
Ken Godevenos is a human resources and church consultant, trained mediator, and executive director of Shantymen International.
From The Church Leader's Answer Book, copyright © 2006 Christianity Today International, published by Tyndale House Publishers.
Looking for more tools designed for small-group pastors and directors? Check out these training downloads from BuildingSmallGroups.com:
• Re-Launching a Small-Groups Ministry: This Training Theme is designed to help churches that have launched small-groups programs in the past, but are still waiting for the ministry to fully take root. It's also for churches that encountered a negative experience with small groups in the past, but want to try again.
• Tools for Evaluating Your Small-Groups Ministry: Point leaders for effective small group ministries must be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their groups. Identify the six key components of an effective small group ministry that will help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of small groups in your church.
• Healthy Small Groups—Training Theme: Whether your church has a mature small-group ministry or is just starting out, this theme helps you take ministry to the next level.
| 
