What are the Benefits of a Women’s Retreat?

Women from the same church body, small group or Christian ministry often gather for retreats. What benefits come from this focused time away together? Women’s ministry professionals and volunteers from Texas, Virginia and Idaho offer their views on the benefits of a women’s retreat. Here’s how these women summed up the positives:

Ditch Distractions

Retreats allow us to block out usual distractions for focused spiritual growth. “We have never been a more hurried, media-saturated culture,” says Kari Stainback, Women’s Ministry Director at Park Cities Presbyterian in Dallas, Texas. “We need to peel ourselves away and seek the Lord. Getting out of our hectic paces, our familiar territory, our tight schedules allows us to ‘Be still and know that He is God’ (Ps. 46:10).”

“A retreat is often [a woman’s] only opportunity to focus for a more extended time on her relationship with God and her relationship with other women,” says Michele Moore, former Director of Women’s and Marriage Ministries at Christ Community Church, Idaho Falls, Idaho. And that insight leads us to the next benefit …

Deepen Relationships

A women’s retreat provides a set-apart opportunity for building community. Some have said women can do a year’s worth of relationship building in a one-weekend retreat. “I suspect it’s more than a year’s worth,” says Dr. Sandra Glahn, Professor of Media Arts & Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary and author of The Coffee Cup Bible Study Series.

“The shared experience [of an out-of-town retreat] builds a tighter community once home again,” adds Christine King, a lay leader of the Women’s Ministry Team at Trinity Presbyterian in Charlottesville, Virginia. Retreats act as catalysts to jumpstart or strengthen relationships in a church body or group.

Reflect and Reset

Sometimes the best reason to leave for a retreat is so you can come back refreshed and restored. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:33. Reflecting on their lives and realigning priorities with God help women gain fresh perspective on the challenges waiting for them at home.

“It’s easy to put off contemplation and personal growth when you are in the midst of the busyness of life,” says Christine King. “If you go away, it allows you a chance to reset.” As women dive into God’s Word, they can be “transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2). More than a spa refresh, women at a Christian retreat can experience the refreshing, restorative effect of deep nourishment from the Bible.

Are women’s retreats worth it?

While women’s retreats have many benefits, some women still see the effort and expense of making arrangements for time away. They may wonder if women’s retreats are worth overcoming those obstacles.

King has seen God’s hand in rebuilding the women’s ministry at Trinity Presbyterian in recent years. Integral to that process has been the momentum created by two women’s retreats over six months in 2023 and 2024.

Heather, who attended one of the Trinity retreats, shares her perspective on that experience: “This retreat was a sweet time of walking with sisters and their stories.”

King reminds women that when they attend a retreat, they are receiving “encouragement from others who have spent many hours preparing and praying for your experience.” To the woman who can’t decide if the retreat is worth it, King adds, “She will probably not regret going, but she may regret not going when she hears the stories from everyone who was there.”

Women experience benefits from a retreat that often don’t occur in the daily grind of life. When women set aside distractions to focus on time with God and deeper, richer relationships with other women, they are likely to be refreshed and ready to re-engage with the challenges of their lives. So, why should you go on a women’s retreat? Traci Martin, Director of Engagement at the Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry, sums it up well: “To be replenished by the Lord, refreshed in the Word, and reconnected with the Body of Christ.”

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