5 Tips for Creating an Awesome Dnow or Retreat

By Doug Franklin December 6, 2024

We all want to lead a great Disciple Now (DNow) or retreat event this year. One with innovation and high energy but with time pressures and commitments we are going to lead the same event we lead last year with just a few tweaks.

I know this sounds a little funny but its true. We often don’t innovate because we don’t have the time. So, in a crunch time world what are the most import elements to think through before planning a retreat.

Here are 5 helpful tips to help you craft a DNow/Retreat Schedule that makes for an awesome weekend.

    1. Set Your Goals

What do you want your DNow to do for your students and student ministry? This is the essential question where all retreat planning must begin. Is the goal of your weekend that your students better understand the Book of Colossians, that your students become a community, or that your students have a fun weekend off of school? Your answer to this question is crucial to how you shape your schedule.

   2. Focus Your Schedule Times Around Your Goals

Once your goals have been set, you should make your schedule reflect your goals. If your goal is to help your students better understand the Book of Colossians, you may want to spend most of the weekend in Bible study. If your goal is to help your students build community, you may want to have additional “hang out” or recreation time so that students can bond. If your goal is to have a fun weekend off of school, your DNow will need to be filled with games and hours of endless fun. Let your goals form the bulk of your schedule.

   3. Don’t Forget The Power Of Down Time

Down time is a much neglected art in student ministry. We have many events that are driven by activity and energy. Activity is not bad, but it’s in the down time when students will be able to truly connect to God and each other. During down time, students can take time to listen to God through devotions and time in His Word. They can also connect to others through the conversations that naturally take place in the midst of a retreat. Don’t let your schedule rob your students of this crucial time.

   4. Build Community

Disciple Now event or retreat is a rare event because all of your students are together for an extended amount of time. Don’t miss this opportunity to build community. In a student ministry, community is primarily built through recreational and service opportunities. These are moments that force students to get out of their peer groups to meet other students. The community that is built at events can transform your student ministry forever. Don’t miss the opportunity for transformation.

   5. Be Flexible

Life happens. You may have spent hours planning the perfect DNow schedule to have one of your groups sleep through breakfast. Let your schedule be a guide not a guardian. Realize that God is in control, and ultimately, your retreat is operating on His schedule, not yours.

Download our freebie, the Sample DNow Schedule.