How do you persuade busy youth workers that they should spend time away from work, family, young people and church to do very little? Here are some suggestions from those who have made it work.
1. Find the purpose Do some thinking of your own about the difference between training events, retreats and residentials and the purpose of taking your team on retreat. Ruth Bennett from LCET says, ‘Have a really clear aim and communicate it well beforehand, so that your team know what is being asked of them.’
2. Be ready to persuade! There may be some resistance to overcome if your team have never been on retreat before, or are committed to the young people they work with so that time away feels like a distraction, but persevere! Think about the different personalities who will be coming, what their response might be to the idea of a retreat, and how you might manage that. Some youth workers are activists or extroverts who don’t naturally warm to the thought of being quiet and still, so getting them on board may need some skilful leadership. Point out that they’ll be setting a good example to young people by choosing to prioritise time with God. Involving your team in planning the retreat will also help to get their buy-in.
3. Book it early Getting the date in everyone’s diary far in advance is crucial. Dave Wiles says about the FYT annual retreat, ‘we get it in the diary a year ahead and it’s a strong commitment.’ Choose a time that works for your team – in school holidays if your team is involved in lots of schools work and don’t have children of their own; towards the end of term if they have kids of their own they’ll need to be with when they break up from school. And then protect that time – don’t let it be eaten into unless it’s essential. Ruth says, ‘We’ve found that as team members have families, it’s made it harder for them to opt in; however they will usually pull out all the stops to have a moment away and some alone-space. It’s really worth being sensitive to needs though.’
4. Start small If your team are worried about how they’ll cope on retreat, it may be better to start with a quiet day that will give them a taster.
5. Setting is everything Getting away from the normal routine is an important factor in an effective retreat. Being in your office or close to home makes checking emails or making quick phone calls too tempting to resist. Sally Nash from Midlands CYM recommends going somewhere that sounds attractive to people and says, ‘travel together as much as possible as lots of interesting things emerge on the journey.’ Dave Wiles has taken his FYT team to a number of different venues, including Trinity, Fellowship Afloat’s lighthouse ship in Tollesbury, Essex.
6. Use a facilitator Don’t feel you have to do all the work. Getting a facilitator in to provide input to the retreat will enable you to benefit too, and may make it easier for your team to be honest about how it went. Ask around your local area, or contact one of the people mentioned in this article for their advice. Ruth recommends arranging things so that no one person feels that they’re running the show; allow everyone to contribute rather than being passive recipients.
7. Honour it as work If everyone in your team is expected to be on the retreat then it should count as work-time and your church or organisation should pay for them to be there.
8. Agree the boundaries You need people to be fully present on retreat, so decide in advance what the rules will be about things like phones and emails. Of course, people should be able to contact their families and some may need to be more accessible than others, but agree together when phones will be off and whether an email ban is a good idea.
9. Make a balanced plan An effective retreat has a good balance between input and space to reflect. Sally suggests thinking of it as putting some scaffolding to the time so that you’re free within a structure. She says, ‘allow people some autonomy as to what they do or don’t do, and recognise the needs of different personality types, providing both silence and opportunities to talk.’ LCET try to ensure that their retreats are laidback with plenty of space to reflect and socialise. Dave recommends balancing the social, spiritual and intellectual aspects of the retreat and not filling every moment with activity. Ingredients to consider include space to walk; teaching or some other input; opportunities to be creative; a rhythm or pattern of worship that people can join in with; a chance for one-to-one discussion with someone; time for discussion to help people process; focused prayer for the work you’re involved in; time over wine and chocolate to relax and socialise.
10. Enjoy! Don’t feel it has to be all super-spiritual and serious. Have fun together!
Read Jenny Baker's article on the need for team retreats by clicking below:
