The Transformational Potential of Retreats

Something powerful happens when we leave the comforts and rhythms of our ordinary life in order to be more deeply attentive to God. For a variety of reasons, the overnight (and even more so, the multiple night) retreat is the context in which the Holy Spirit does some of His most powerful work. Temporarily changing our context has the power to change our perspective, our inner disposition, and in some cases our entire life trajectory. 

Many can attest to this: those who have experienced L’Abri, or the Alpha Course retreat, or a Journey of Generosity retreat or any number of other examples. We (the founders of Iona House) have seen in a parish/congregation setting the massive transformational power of retreats. From monastic-inspired camping trips to conference center retreats to small groups in an Airbnb, we’ve done it all. Over and over again we’ve watched in amazement as God has opened up closed places in the human heart. We’ve seen Him break down spiritual and relational barriers and awaken faith in ways we can barely imagine. We’ve seen Him forge the bonds of love and communion between people who seem very different from one another. 

The idea of a communal retreat is as old as the people of God. One of Israel’s major festivals was the Feast of Booths in which the whole nation was called into an experience that was essentially a giant, communal camping trip. Everyone temporarily moved out of their homes into “booths” or tents that they constructed for the purpose of this festival. They spent the next seven days living in a communal rhythm of feasting and worship together before God. This festival, along with the others in Israel’s annual calendar, proved to be massively formational to their identity as the redeemed people of God, as those set aside for His purposes. 

Throughout the history of God’s faithful people, the retreat has been a vital practice. We see it in Jesus’ life; we can see it in the desert fathers and mothers; from about the 4th century onward we see it develop into an ongoing, institutional movement in the form of monasticism. This wasn’t just about monks and nuns being cloistered away. Ordinary non-vowed Christians have long utilized the monastery as a place of retreat. It was sacred space set aside for contemplation and prayer, a place of hospitality where you could enter into an already existing rhythm of communal life in reference to Christ, in order that people might re-engage the world with a new perspective.

Sacred space and time matter. Many of the most powerful and lasting missional movements in history can be traced back to a retreat experience.