Ideas for Planning a Christian Women's Retreat With a Friendship Theme
- Begin the retreat by playing icebreaker games to allow everyone to become comfortable with each other. These games will provide laughs and entertainment, while beginning to build bonds. Have the women partner up with a stranger and try to compile a list of things they have in common. Award a prize for the longest list. Play the toilet paper game, where a toilet paper roll is passed around for each women to tear off however much they desire. Each person must then take turns sharing a fact about the themselves for each square of toilet paper that they tore off.
- Plan one night of the retreat to revolve around chocolate, something most women love! The emphasis can be on sweet friendships and the sweetness of the Lord. Hot chocolate can be served and the focus can be on fellowship. While enjoying the hot chocolate, allow women to share their testimonies and a short devotional. End the evening by playing a game that involves guessing the number of chocolate candies in a jar.
- Use one night of the retreat to focus on unity and strength in friendships. Decorate with quilts and sewing baskets, and emphasize the importance of building strong bonds and unity between Christian women. Allow each woman to paint a quilt square, and then have all the squares sewn together to form a quilt. Another idea is to have each woman make a friendship bracelet for another women, and allow the two of them to be prayer partners during the retreat.
- At the end of the retreat, celebrate the new friendships made with an ice cream social. Provide supplies for making ice cream sundaes and begin by allowing everyone to eat and socialize. After everyone has had time to fellowship, allow women to share memories they have made on the retreat, and things they have learned about each other. This provides a great opportunity for the women to verbally express the friendships they have made during retreat. Encourage the women to share contact information with each other, so they can continue to stay in touch when the retreat is over.