Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

40 Youth Retreat Theme Ideas

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Youth retreat theme ideasAt Youth Workin’ It, we know it can be hard to come up with youth retreat theme ideas. To make your life easier, here is a list of 40 possible youth retreat theme ideas that you can use and then craft into youth retreat aims by making them SMART.

We get a mix of youth workers coming to this website – some that work for churches and others that work for youth agencies, community organizations and charities. We’ve therefore crafted a list of easily adaptable youth retreat themes, whether your youth residential or youth retreat is faith-based or not.

If you find these youth retreat theme ideas helpful, you’ll love our book – How To Plan A Youth Retreat. It helps guide you through each step when planning a youth retreat and also gives a list of 85 youth retreat theme ideas.

  1. Poverty
  2. Self-image
  3. Dating
  4. Forgiveness
  5. Bullying
  6. Relationships
  7. Love
  8. Peer pressure
  9. Peace
  10. Kindness
  11. Integrity
  12. Families
  13. Joy
  14. Substance abuse
  15. Physical health
  16. Patience
  17. Worry
  18. Helping others
  19. Christmas
  20. Sex
  21. Global issues
  22. Internet
  23. Accountability
  24. Self-control
  25. Hope
  26. Confidence
  27. Money
  28. Gossip
  29. School
  30. Making decisions
  31. Justice
  32. Temptation
  33. Anger management
  34. Reconciliation
  35. Honesty
  36. Team building
  37. Making a difference
  38. Loyalty
  39. Friends
  40. College/University

**Don’t forget that we’ve published a book to help anyone planning a youth retreat. Find out more about How To Plan A Youth Retreat here**

Question: What’s a youth retreat theme that’s worked well for you? Let us know in the comments below.

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5 Reasons To Choose A Youth Retreat Theme And Aim

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Youth retreat aim and themeNow that you’ve sat down and worked out the reasons you want to run a youth retreat, you’ll have a good idea of your vision. A good next step is to decide on the aim and theme of the youth retreat.

What’s the difference between an aim and a theme? An aim is what you want to achieve, while a theme is the subject you’ll be covering during the youth retreat – often in order to help you achieve the aim.

Choosing your youth retreat aim and theme early in the planning process will actually help with the rest of the planning. How so? Consider the following things you will organize and how knowing your youth retreat aim and/or theme will assist these areas:

1) Retreat center

If you choose a theme about nature, creation, etc. for your youth retreat, booking a retreat center in the mountains or a forest will help tie in with that theme, rather than booking a center not surrounded by nature. If your aim relates to team-building, a retreat center which offers a lot of group activities will facilitate that.

2) Volunteers

Knowing your youth retreat theme and aim upfront means potential volunteers can see that you’re well organized and will have more confidence in your leadership. It can also be a good idea to include your volunteers when choosing an aim and theme for the youth retreat in the first place. That way they can give their own suggestions, which in turn helps them to feel more included in the planning and provides a sense of ownership.

3) Parents

If you haven’t set an aim or chosen a theme and parents ask what the youth retreat is about, you might struggle for an answer. Therefore, having an aim and theme chosen before speaking to parents about the youth retreat will give them greater confidence in your abilities – something youth workers and youth pastors will always welcome!

4) Budget

The largest part of a youth retreat budget will be allocated to paying for the retreat center. As your aim and theme can affect which retreat center you book (as mentioned above), it can in turn affect your budget. Depending on your youth retreat theme and aim, you may also need to purchase additional resources which will further affect your budget. It’s best to know this upfront, rather than having several unplanned expenses further down the line.

5) Activities

Once you’ve chosen an aim and a theme, you can start planning activities and games for the youth retreat that relate to them.

So even if your next youth retreat isn’t happening until next year, start thinking now about what theme you want to cover – it could save you time and hassle further down the line.

**We’ve published a book to help anyone planning a youth retreat. It has a chapter dedicated to setting youth retreat aims and objectives, as well as giving 85 youth retreat theme ideas. Find out more about How To Plan A Youth Retreat here**

Question: What youth retreat themes have you used before and did they work well? Please let us know in the comments below.

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10 Reasons To Run A Youth Retreat

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10 reasons to run a youth retreatBefore planning a youth retreat, it’s worth asking yourself “What do we want to achieve with this retreat?” You may only have one youth retreat objective, or you may have several:

  1. There’s a theme you want to cover over a weekend
  2. You’ve noticed that your youth develop a deeper faith while at youth retreats (if the retreat is run by a church)
  3. There are a number of new youth in your group and you want them to have an opportunity to bond
  4. You and other helpers want a chance to build a deeper relationship with the young people – something that happens more easily at a youth retreat
  5. Your church or organization runs a youth retreat every year, so the students would be disappointed if there wasn’t one
  6. You want to organize something fun that the youth can invite their friends to
  7. You want to celebrate your students graduating
  8. Your young people are from low-income families and so wouldn’t normally have a chance to get away
  9. Your group is getting a new leader or youth pastor and a youth retreat would provide a good time for them to be introduced
  10. You want to book a guest speaker to come and speak to your young people and a weekend retreat would be the ideal time

If you have a clear objective of what you want to achieve, you’ll be a lot more focused on what you need to do to make the youth retreat a success. It’ll give you a clearer idea of what kind of retreat center to book, how much it’ll cost, what activities you can do and how you should promote it.

Having a vision of what you want to achieve will also inspire other adults to help you lead the youth retreat and will increase interest among the students. Parents will also be more supportive, as you’ll be able to tell them how their children will benefit from the time away.

**We’ve now published a book to help anyone planning a youth retreat. Find out more about How To Plan A Youth Retreat here**

Question: What are some reasons you run youth retreats? Let us know in the comments below.

You can also connect with us by:

  1. Signing up to receive our posts via email
  2. Following us on Twitter
  3. Liking us on Facebook
  4. Signing up to our RSS feed