Organizing a Men’s Group Retreat

The first thing you ought to do is to find a retreat center that is suitable — a location that will accommodate everyone, and where you can all eat, sleep, and hold meetings together. The fellowship and also the encouragement of kindred spirits is particularly valuable.

Opt for a comfortable location, but not overly costly, so that it is affordable to everyone.

If it is at all possible, aim to have the dining hall and meeting room close to the bedrooms. And do be sure to enquire about the meeting hall in terms of its size. Will it be large enough to hold all of the retreat group attendees?

The Ideal Time for a Retreat

There’s no individual best time to organize and hold a retreat. Retreats make for an excellent way for a new initiative or to design some strategic planning. They may also be instrumental in helping a group to refocus and re-energize.

A retreat may be used as a way to help a group to get back on track. As an example, should your initiative have recently reorganized its board members, the retreat can be an ideal way to welcome new members into the organization and by so doing, can generate a plan for the future.

Of course, a retreat can also be utilized for celebrating a particular event or perhaps an anniversary.

Whatever your group or organization is in need of, a retreat offers an ideal way to make progress as a group in one way or another.

How to Plan for a Men’s Group Retreat?

A men’s group retreat, or any group retreat for that matter, is best planned by allowing plenty of time. The general rule to follow is that unless the retreat is very small scale, ideally, you’d likely need between two and four months to make plans for it.

Nevertheless, it might be necessary to make a reservation of a site prior to this, depending on its popularity.

Questions to Consider When Selecting a Site

• What should the accommodation be like? Cabins, dorm rooms, hotel?
• Do you prefer to cook for yourselves or are meals best provided? If opting to cook for yourselves, are kitchen facilities a provision and is there any extra charge?
• If there’s a preference for camping, does your group prefer outdoor showers and bathrooms?
• If it’s necessary, will your group mind sharing facilities with another group?
• If audiovisual equipment is required, do you need to bring your own or will the facility provide it?
• Is there a good variety of recreational activities?
• Are linens available if sleeping in dormitories or in cabins?