ReConnect: A Retreat for the Preacher and His Wife
In the Fall of 2019, we were honored to help host the first ReConnect retreat, along with our friends Josh and Amanda Ketchum. The attendance was very small (our two couples and four others, plus one additional speaker) but those who came were greatly encouraged. The plan was to have the retreat annually…
…then 2020 happened. Of course, we had to cancel.
But we are so glad to let you know that ReConnect is back in 2021. In fact, we wanted so much to have it that we are not waiting for the Fall. Instead, we have moved this year’s retreat up to May! Already, we have more couples registered to attend than came to the first retreat and registration has only “officially” been open for a couple of days.
What is ReConnect? It is a marriage retreat designed for the preacher and his wife. Marriage is hard and ministry is hard, and when you put those two things together there are some unique and difficult challenges that this couple must work through to maintain a strong bond in their marriage. ReConnect seeks to provide a helpful and engagement environment for learning, discussion, and fun.
The retreat occurs at the Lebanon Road Church of Christ in Nashville. Designed with the minister’s schedule in mind, we start after lunch on Thursday and end with supper on Friday (providing time to get home for those Saturday “last-minute” preparations for Sunday’s sermons). The 30-ish hours include lessons, classes, discussion, food…and a lot of fun.
Speakers for this year include Dale Jenkins, Westley Hazel, Jerrie Barber, Josh Ketchum, Gail Barber, Leah Faughn, Amanda Ketchum, and me. Subjects will vary from doing your work while maintaining healthy boundaries with the opposite sex to keeping romance alive in your marriage–and lots of subjects in between. The schedule and topics are still being finalized, but everything will be geared toward helping the preacher and his wife draw closer to God and each other as they work in the world of ministry.
The cost of the retreat is just $30 per couple and we want it known that neither the Ketchums or Leah and I “make” anything from the retreat. Our speakers don’t, either! The registration fee is simply to offset the cost of food and a few giveaways. We want to keep the retreat as open as possible, so we do our best to keep the cost low. (If you need help with the $30 fee, we can work with you on that, as well.)
This year’s retreat is May 6-7 and we hope you will attend or encourage your preacher and his wife to come. It might rekindle their marriage. It might save his ministry. It might simply be a gift they didn’t even realize they needed.
For more information, or to register, follow this link.
