Winter Retreats

So you want to take your students on a winter retreat, but you don’t have the time/energy/resources to plan one. Or you want them to interact with Christian students from other groups. Or you want them to experience activities you cannot provide on your own. The solution to all these issues is to find a winter retreat provider.

This past weekend, our Junior High students (plus myself) experienced our first Word of Life Snow Camp. Located on their Schroon Lake, NY campus, Snow Camp involved hundreds of students and leaders enjoying 44 hours of playing winter games, listening to music and great speakers, and building relationships with the students.

What was great about Snow Camp:

• Well Planned. Every activity and event was planned to a T, with designated staff members assigned to every conceivable thing. Every staff member knew their job and performed it well. Plus, this was their 8th weekend of camp, so they had the flow of the weekend down pat.
• Big Event. With over 400 campers this weekend, this was a big event. Having that size group means they could bring in a big-time speaker that a smaller group could not. This also means that group activities are done on a much larger scale, with many more people cheering on.
• Activities. Word of Life has some great facilities and a great base of snow. This means more winter activities than you can handle. Some activities we participated in were broomball, Polar Plunge, snow football, paintball, tubing, and walking on the frozen lake (a novelty for us; the ocean does not freeze over).

While Upstate New York might be too far to travel for your group, there are many similar events throughout the US. Talk to some other local youth pastors and find out where they go for their winter retreat.

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The series “Youth Pastor Toolbox” discusses tools of the trade for youth ministry. A new “Youth Pastor Toolbox” will be posted every Tuesday.