Your Next Weekend Retreat: How To Serve Students, Volunteers, and Parents Well

We know there is a special something that happens when we can get students away. Even Jesus took moments to get away from the crowds, from the mundane, and from the demands of everyday life. There are many ways this could happen in your context but one of the ways Orange Students encourage serving students is through the idea of a Weekend Retreat. 

A Weekend Retreat can take many forms. You could scramble your weekly schedule, take a bus to a Retreat Center, or you could do something totally innovative and new all together. Either way you spin it, there are essentially three groups of people we plan our weekend retreats for – parents, volunteers, and of course, our students. At the same time, each of those groups needs us to consider different things when planning our Weekend Retreat experiences.  

So what are some of the things they hope we, as ministry leaders, don’t forget when planning a Weekend Retreat for them?

Volunteers

Let’s assume you have all the volunteers you need for this Weekend Retreat and have sent them the materials they need to lead well for it, too! But what if we took this one step further?

In my first years of ministry, volunteers regularly told me “Well, I wasn’t sure what I could and couldn’t do in that scenario, so I didn’t do anything.” While training them for the retreat, I didn’t realize I was essentially giving them a book to read about swimming, but then throwing them in the deep end without floaties when we arrived.

  • Communicate your schedule, discipline policy, and expectations to your volunteers well in advance in order to set yourself and your team up for success.
  • Is there a volunteer who is First Aid certified? Would they mind you sharing that with the group?
  • Are all of your volunteers small group leaders or are there different roles?
  • Do you want to handle all discipline or is there something you’d like the leaders to say in your absence?
  • Do you expect your leaders to be engaged in a free time activity too, or can they take a break then as well?
  • If you’re going off-site for your retreat, is there anything tricky about the travel time or location they need to know before arrival?

Think through what your volunteers need to hear from you to be confident in their God-given gifts and calling for the weekend. They will be so thankful you did!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when it comes to volunteers is encouragement.  I like to ask for what I call 5 Under 5! This concept is simply 5 things under $5 that would make a leader smile if they showed up at the retreat. This could be as simple as a handwritten note or hug and as complicated as their favorite plantain chips only sold at a local store! The hardest part of this is following through. You don’t have to spend a large amount of budget on this to pull it off. If 3 – 5 volunteers say they love a particular candy, purchase the family size and have a designated spot for volunteer-only snacks. Little things like this will make the biggest difference.Consider what makes your leaders feel most celebrated and incorporate that into the weekend.   

Parents

While it may seem odd to consider you are planning this retreat for parents, I’d offer that this is one of the greatest ways parent partnership happens. Partnering with Parents is a core value of Orange and I am often guilty of sharing the packing list or schedule and considering that partnership. (Accept my sincerest apologies for stepping on toes). Let’s say that a Weekend Retreat allows for about 48 hours of relational equity between a student and a Small Group Leader.  What if we looked at this Weekend Retreat opportunity to grow the same relational equity with parents as we are getting with the students?

In order to maximize this, we need to partner with parents not only before the retreat but during and after, too.

  • Consider including the following question on your registration form: Is there anything we need to know to best serve your student this weekend? or something similar. This has opened the door to us knowing more about homesickness, a recent family split, and even a fear of sleeping on the top bunk! This not only helps your weekend go more smoothly but also helps the parent/family remember you are on their team.
  • Have you sent the packing list with plenty of time to make it possible for the parent to succeed?
  • Do you have a way to communicate an ETA if your retreat is out of town?
  • What is your plan to share pictures? (Consider a chat app or even social media as an easy way to do this).
  • What about after the retreat? If you are an XP3 Curriculum partner, then you are familiar with Parent Cue. There are topics that are included with a subscription that cue a parent at home as to what to ask their child about when it comes to that week’s lesson. You could do the same for the retreat!
  • What are the top 3 – 4 ideas you hope your students walk away with after the retreat? Pre-draft an email with those and a few questions for parents to ask their students when they return home. Some email software even allows you to schedule this to be sent when you return home! If you can’t schedule it, put the date you will send it on your calendar.
  • Keep a note in the Notes App on your phone of some really awesome moments from the weekend. Write a handwritten note to families when you return – even just one is a win – of ways you saw their child shine and see the partnership flourish.  
  • Have your youth on the retreat write thank-you notes or a text to their families for sending them! Anything you can do to bolster that relationship is the goal here.

But again, make sure you are taking this beyond information sharing! A partnership is two parties doing something to move in the same direction. How can you leverage this retreat as a way to remind parents you desire to partner with them?

Students

Last, but not least, students tend to be the main event of a Weekend Retreat. And that’s so exciting! One question to consider is: What is your win for students at the end of this weekend? Each denomination and church may have different goals with a weekend away but you are uniquely situated to determine that for your students. By empowering your leaders well and setting your parents up for success, you are guaranteed students will win too at the end of this Weekend Retreat.

  • Have you provided spaces for both extroverts and introverts to thrive? An easy win is to bring a large sheet of butcher paper and some markers for a low-key doodle station or provide an indoor movie option for free time.
  • On our weekend retreats, we also ask the students to bring snacks. We divide it sweet/salty based on last name or grade (depending on the breakdown) and then keep the leftover snacks in our ministry area when we return for students to eat when they hang out after school. It’s a win-win!
  • You may also want to incorporate students into the planning of the retreat. Is there a game you want to run by them or a spot where they could kick off a session with prayer? Consider involving them in the leadership of the weekend, too!
  • You may also want to think through rooming assignments, transportation needs, and any ministry-particular policies surrounding these things when it comes to your students.

Ministry Leader

You and I both know that as a ministry leader, a Weekend Retreat can be taxing. It is a joy to serve students and also can be difficult for us personally. Talk with leadership about taking a day to rest and recover when you return from your Weekend Retreat. Even as a volunteer ministry leader, this is a great conversation to have! Sleep in, plan some soul care, and do not touch email that day.

The best part of Orange is they have a few things that will help with the planning, too:

  • Contact your Orange Specialist (OS). When I took students on my first weekend retreat, I set up a call with my OS and they helped me think through everything – transportation, packing list, schedule, meals, etc. Orange Specialists are a phenomenal resource you don’t want to miss.
  • Join the Facebook Group, Rethinking Youth Ministry: A Youth Ministry Community From Orange”. Do a quick search for Weekend Retreat in the group or make a post to get some ideas from members in the group. It’s a great resource!
  • Check out the FREE Weekend Retreat resource – EVERYTHING. This guide takes you step by step on planning an incredible weekend and did I mention, it’s FREE?

On the first retreat I ever led while serving students, we got lost, nearly ran out of fuel in our van, and the pizza for lunch got irreparably burned. Those students are now juniors and seniors in college and STILL reach out to say how meaningful that weekend was. 

Perhaps the biggest thing you don’t want to forget when planning a weekend retreat is that God has called you to this work and you are doing a great job. Trust God has already equipped and empowered you and will encourage you along the way as you lead.

We can’t wait to hear how your next Weekend Retreat goes!

5 Thoughts on Elevating Community Among Teens

The Art Of We: Introducing The Orange Conference 2025

FREE EVENT

You’re Invited: Join The Free Orange Partner Event

WATCH TODAY

Get Orange in Your Inbox 📨

Get free resources for today, and the latest thinking for tomorrow.