If you’ve ever tried to find women’s retreat speakers, you’ve likely said, “Help! I need a speaker! How do I even start this process?”
If you’re in charge of organizing an event and need a women’s retreat speaker for church, the possibilities are endless, and knowing where to start can be overwhelming.
You are in the right place. This is a conversation we have with hosts on a daily basis, and we can guide you to find the best ladies' retreat speakers for church events.
For a women’s retreat, you want to ensure your speakers are relatable, dynamic, powerful, and engaging and will compel those who attend to take action. Here are 7 tips to help you find the perfect speaker…
7 Tips for Finding Women’s Retreat Speakers
1. Pray.
Before all else, pray! Ask the Lord who He wants to send to be your women’s retreat speaker. Then, pray some more and continue to pray as you work through the process.
Things you can be praying about during the process…
- Praise God for moving in a new way through your group and what He will do during the retreat.
- Ask for God to guide your decision about the speaker.
- Ask God to prepare your heart and others who are helping with the event.
- Praise God for His faithfulness as you depend on Him during the planning process.
- Ask God to plant seeds of deep connection and intimacy with Him within the hearts of the women who will attend.
2. Define your goals and purpose.
Clearly defining your goals and the purpose of your retreat will give you the starting point you need to find a women’s retreat speaker who will support and help accomplish those goals. What do you want your group to experience during their time together? Most women’s retreats share common goals such as slowing down, getting into God’s Word together, and building connections. Think about what you want the women at the retreat to walk away knowing, thinking, seeing, and feeling.
Here are a few goals and purposes for women’s retreats…
- A deeper study of a book or topic of the Bible
- A closer look at women of the Bible
- Helping women better understand their God-given purposes at work, home, church, and more
- To compel them to take action for the Kingdom (the retreat could be a kick-off event for a new ministry or program in your church)
- To celebrate God’s work in your church (the retreat could be a time of rest and reflection after a ministry launch)
- To reflect on what God is doing (the retreat could be uninterrupted time and space for focused prayer, direction, and inspiration for what God is calling your church or ministry to do)
3. Outline event details.
Outlining the specific details of the event helps to ensure all things point back to the purpose and help to reach your goals. It drills down further on the vision and helps to better communicate that vision to the women’s retreat speaker and others who will be helping with the event planning.
Questions to consider to help you create the outline:
- Do you want the speaker to plan their own message or have guidance from you?
- Do you have a set theme or topic you’d like the speaker to talk about?
- How many times and for how long do you want them to speak during the event?
4. Think about the logistics.
There will also be practical logistical details to consider as you plan your event. Once you have considered the questions below, then you are prepared to discuss specific speakers. There are many gifted and godly women’s retreat speakers out there, but there are differences in focus, passion, and style. Think about those things as you move into the next steps of researching, contacting, and accessing the right speaker.
Questions to help you work out event logistics:
- Will you need someone within driving distance of your venue or does your budget allow for airfare?
- Will there be housing available for your women’s retreat speaker, or will that be an additional cost?
- If they are flying, will a rental car be necessary?
- Will you provide meals or cover the cost of meals?
- What is your budget for the women’s retreat speaker?
5. Do your research.
We suggest you do some online research about potential women’s retreat speakers. As mentioned, there are godly speakers out there, but not all will align with your goals or have a dynamic and engaging presentation when they speak. Again, if inspiration to take action is part of your goal, finding a speaker that has the energy you’re looking for is critical.
Here are a few ways to begin your online research for women’s retreat speakers…
- Look at websites and the overall characteristics of their affiliated ministry.
- Search for online clips of their messages and things they have published or written.
- Look for ready examples of inspiring and challenging messages based on a foundation of integrity to the Word of God.
- Continue to pray as you research!
6. Contact and connect with the women’s retreat speaker or ministry.
The next step is having a direct conversation with the ministry representative who can give you more information. Connection, sharing your heart, and listening to a potential women’s retreat speaker’s heart is important. For example, we have an Itinerant Coordinator at Forge who can answer any questions about our speakers, provide you with more details and speaking clips, and help direct you to the women’s retreat speaker who will best fit your goals and intentions for your group. If the ministry doesn’t have that representative, then go directly to the speaker.
Questions and topics to discuss when contacting and connecting with the ministry or speaker…
- How will the speaker make your vision their priority?
- What is the speaker’s vision when speaking at an event?
- What is their process of coming up with topics or integrating your theme and goal?
- Share your “big picture” vision and then gradually narrow it down to the specifics, logistics, budget, etc.
- Consider dates and availability for the speaker and planned event.
- Oh, and along the way, continue to pray!
7. Assess if the women’s retreat speaker is right for you.
It is the job of itinerant ministry and women’s retreat speakers to come alongside you, as you lead and serve your group. The right speaker won’t come in with a personal agenda or plan and disregard your goals, but rather their plan is to align with yours. It is important that they follow His Kingdom agenda and partner with you as the Lord leads to further His work in your group.
- Do you get the impression the potential speaker will be relational?
- Do you get a sense that they will humbly serve off-stage with up-close and personal engagement as much as on-stage?
- Will they challenge and equip your group and call for spiritual decisions?
- Do you feel they will collaborate with you in cooperation to help strengthen your ministry?
- Are they set up to provide long-term impact with ministry programs and resources that will be available to your group post-event?
- Do they have a ministry structure in place to provide support to you in the form of organizing assistance, a team for pre and post-event prayer and follow-up?
Don’t Forget: Pray and Pray Again!
The most important step in choosing women's retreat speakers is to pray! Ask the Lord to take all your planning, details, and gathering of information and put it all together to lead you to the one He would have for your group.
Trust Him to lead you to the person who will share foundational truth from His Word to equip ordinary people to follow Him as Kingdom Laborers in their everyday lives. He knows the deepest needs of their hearts, and He knows who the right fit will be to bring messages that will fuel them, igniting hearts on fire and lives on purpose!
We know the blood, sweat, and tears that go into daily ministry and we want to support and encourage you as you seek to bring His Word and message to your people. If you’re ready to find a passionate, engaging, and compelling women’s retreat speaker for your next church event, reach out to us here! We want to help you create momentum for spiritual growth and Kingdom-advancing ministry!