It’s a good idea for those responsible for planning the family retreat or conference to make some decision about just what they are looking for in a facility before they start calling camps to check prices and availability.

As a planning team begin by agreeing on a purpose for your church's family retreat. A well-defined purpose will help set some parameters for the kind of facility you need. When it comes to family retreats pay special attention to things like quality food service with choices for children, a wide variety of recreation and spacious and flexible meeting spaces. 

That question is like nails on a chalk board.  Here's my approach, if someone looks like they have a case of the Mondays, they probably do, so why would I ever ask?  That's like asking if fire is hot and then putting your hand in to check...  Over the top?  YES, but I am ok with it.

The approach of camp season can be a stressful time, there are many thing that still need to be accomplished and the clock is ticking away.  Before we get too carried away with the to-do lists can we encourage each other?  You can't hide from the mounting to-do's, but you have to take a break from them...  This is a hard pill for me to swallow.

Over the weekend, I was cleaning my house up and I came across some notes from a Bible study I was in a couple years ago.  Throughout the creation story from Genesis 1 & 2, it repeats the same phrase:  "it was good."  Take a look with me:  Verse 4 - "God saw that the light was good", Verse 9 - "And God saw that it was good", Verse 12 - "And God saw that it was good", Verse 18 - "And God saw that it was good", Verse 21 - "And God saw that it was good", Verse 26 - "And God saw that it was good", and in Verse 31 - "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."  Each day God looked back on what was accomplished and saw it was good.  How cool?

It seems as if summer is coming at us faster than we want it to. So it is time to get out the Wii Fit or go for a run to try to be prepared for beach season, plus we’ve got to get the grill fired up, plan a trip to grandmas house, get the yard mowed, AND get the kids signed up for a camp or youth retreat.

I hope by now you are experiencing the excitement & anticipation of Easter.  One of the best things we as parents get to do is teach our children about Jesus and his amazing resurrection. While this is so important, it can also be a bit scary for children to hear how Christ died on the cross.  It's nice to find a fun activity that you can do with the kids while you work through these lessons.  At our house, we love resurrection eggs.  You can choose to let the kids hunt for 1 every night, or do all 12 at a time.  The most important thing is taking the time to share with them what each one means, and, really giving them time to ask you questions (of course...be prepared to answer!).  

Tip Four: Plan your special gateway with a lot of fun! Allow time for worship and teaching but always allow time for hanging out and plain great fun! Some of the best times for youth to share and open up are in the fun times.  Midwest Christian Retreats can help you plan your fun!

Tip Five: Plan with a schedule but, allow some flexibility.  Schedules can and will help organize your time away.  However, never plan the schedule so full that there is no place for flexibility.  Youth like it when we can be flexible and understand things come up.

Tip Six: Yes, God can help you have an awesome offsite get-a-way! I have been involved in youth ministry for over 25 years.  I have witnessed God do some great things when you get-a-way from your normal routine!  In Psalms 62:8 it states “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” (NKJ)  Allow God to touch you and your group as you get-a-way!!!

Remember God is Faithful to do what He said He would do!