Christian Marriage Retreat Ideas for Group Leaders

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Elizabeth Welte in Retreat Planning

Tags: marriage retreat

If you are interested in organizing a Christian marriage retreat, there are a few things you want to consider while working out the details. Organizing any event requires a lot of time and energy, but it is well worth it in the long run and rewarding to see everything come together. The Christian marriage retreat you plan may rekindle and save some marriages, be an engaging way for leaders to connect, or just be a relaxing way for couples to escape their day-to-day life.

To plan a successful couples retreat, you must consider scheduling enriching workshops and activities and providing guests with excellent speakers. Here are some tips to consider as you plan your Christian marriage retreat.

Plan The Theme of Your Christian Marriage Retreat

Having a theme ensures your retreat activities and itineraries are consistent with what the group expects to do. While a theme doesn’t have to dictate every aspect of the retreat, it can help in the planning process and brings unity to your activities, games, and more. Here are some couples retreat idea themes you may want to consider:

Resolving conflict: This theme is great for couples wanting to work on challenges in their relationship. Consider keynote speakers who specialize in this topic or research activities for couples to try that focus on improving conflict resolution.

Communication: All relationships require adequate and clear communication. Try devising ways to help your couples improve communication by sharing their feelings, from big emotions to mundane things.

Understanding your partner: Couples want to understand their partner, which can be challenging to do with work, children, and other things requiring time and attention at home. For the retreat, plan activities that promote understanding and working together.

See 7 more tips on hosting a couples retreat >>

Start With Some Icebreakers

Icebreakers are a great way to get the retreat going and help everyone feel comfortable. These activities are designed to help your retreat guests connect in a fun and laid-back manner. Here are some great icebreaker activities to try:

Ladder Name Memory Game

For those who struggle to remember names, this is a wonderful way to get to know everyone at the retreat and have fun. It doesn’t matter who starts the game as long as it’s clear who goes next in the sequence.

1. The first person says their name.
2. The next in line tells the person’s name before them and then says their name.
3. This pattern repeats as everyone in the room tries to remember the names before them. As the list gets longer, the game concludes with the first person trying to say everyone’s name back again.

Spouse to Spouse Introduction

Guests may be a little nervous about interacting at the retreat, so introductions are a great way to familiarize everyone. To help ease into the weekend, you can ask everyone to introduce their spouse to the group. While there are many rules you can include in this one, we encourage people to say a few nice things about their partner and share what they love most about them.

Bell Ringing

This is a favorite activity and a fun and easy way to get everyone in the group familiar with one another without putting anyone on the spot. Instead, the game’s moderator talks while couples identify when a statement is true. Then, the moderator says a statement or category, and the team that answers the category should raise their hand.

For example, your categories could be:

• “I am looking for the couple who looks the most alike.”
• “I am looking for the couple who can show me the most pictures of you two together.”
• “I am looking for the couple with the most unique hobby they do together.”
• “I am looking for the couple who married closest to an official holiday.”
• “I am looking for the couple who received the most creative Valentine’s gift from their spouse.”
• “I am looking for the couple with the most matching letters in their first name.”
• “I am looking for the couple who married the closest to their birthday.”

Pass It Around

In this icebreaker, pass a bowl of candy to the group and tell everyone they can take as much or as little as they’d like. Allow everyone to get their candy, and then they have to share information about themselves for every piece of candy they take. What they share is up to them!

Game Ideas for Your Couple’s Retreat

Playing games is another great way to engage your couples in a fun and low-pressure manner. Games allow participants to have fun with one another while testing their knowledge. Here are some of our favorite couples retreat ideas activities:

Remember When

With this game, couples get to reminisce about the first time they met or the first time they went on a date. Then, for two minutes, each person gets to write down what they remember from this encounter and how they felt. When the two minutes are done, ring a bell and have the couples share what they have written. This activity helps to relight the spark in a marriage and brings the couples back to why they first fell in love with the other person.

Count on Me

This game is a fun race format where couples can let out some of their competitive sides while still working together and enjoying the activity. Determine a starting point and end point for the race. When the race begins, couples stand on one another’s feet and race to cross the finish line. It’s a silly game that gets partners to work together while having a good time.

Consider a Marriage Conference as One of Your Ideas

If you want couples to spend quality time with one another while also growing deeper in their relationship with Jesus, a marriage conference could be the perfect option. America’s Keswick is a beautiful conference center that can help you plan every aspect of your outing for a weekend full of fun, relaxation, and intentional time for guests.

See our list of upcoming events >>

 

Looking for additional resources? We’ve got you covered! Check out our tips for hosting a couples retreat and goals to focus on when planning your stay.