Sugar Hollow Retreat is perfect for church groups! We host a variety of church groups including families, ladies groups, and youth ski groups. The following is a list of helpful tips for planning a successful church retreat. 

Tip #1: Why you should have a retreat 

Ask yourself some pertinent questions like “Who is this retreat for?” or “What are their interests, needs, and wants?”  Make sure that what is being offered in the retreat will hold everyone’s interest.  Don’t assume that since it is interesting to you that it will be to everyone else.  Ask people in the congregation/fellowship about their interests and expectations for a church retreat.  Get a feel for what is needed by everyone. 

Tip #2: Choose the right facility

Find out from potential participants in the retreat what type of facilities that they are expecting.  Several questions to ask are:

• What kind of accommodations do we want--dorm rooms, motel type, or rustic cabins?
• Do we want to cook for ourselves or have the meals provided? Are we particular about meals?
• Do we want bathrooms in the cabins or are shower houses okay?
• How much money do we want to spend? What is the group as a whole willing to spend?

Tip #3: Plan a program that will hold everyone’s interest 

Plan a program inclusive of entertainment, musicians, and speakers.  Make sure what you are planning fills interests and wants of the people that will be in attendance.  Keep up with current trends and don’t rely on those who tell you, “This is the way we’ve always done it.” 

Tip #4: Money Matters

Make sure that you have a budget before presenting it to your board for approval. Figure out all your costs: food, lodging, renting the facility, fees for musicians and speakers, etc.  Once you have this calculated, add another 20% to that to cover incidentals and anything that comes up later. 

When you are determining the cost per person to help cover all these expenses, work the numbers in reverse. In other words, let’s say that the expenses will be $10,000 and you are expecting 100 people.  Normally that would equate to $100 per person.  Take that $10,000 and divide it by 80 instead of 100, because for every 100 people that say they will show up, 20% of them won’t.  So now, you will advertise the retreat at $125 per person instead of $100 per person. 

Tip #5: Promote, promote, promote 

Start advertising the retreat 3-4 months before it takes place.  Have flyers printed for hand outs and make sure they are in the foyer every time there is a service.  Post bulletins on all the church ground bulletin boards and make sure that every bulletin that is printed has a blurb about the retreat. Offer a discount on the price for early sign-ups.  If you wind up losing another $25 per person but instead of 80 people who sign up and attend it turns out to be 120 (@ $100 each), that’s $12,000.  The bill is paid and anything over and above can go into the church fund for activities and expenses down the road.

Have recommendations to add?  Let us know!