The Oasis Retreat

Newim’s Oasis Retreat: An introduction to spending extended time alone with Jesus.

Oasis Online Retreat

Let Jackie Rettberg and Luann Budd lead you in spending a few hours with the Lord.

Begin with worship and a time for confession as we share some wisdom from C.S. Lewis (Session 1). Then spend a few minutes reflecting on the value of spending time with Jesus (Session 2). If you are leading this retreat for others, you might share from your heart how you have grown during your personal times with the Lord. If you are doing this retreat on your own, we recommend taking 15 minutes to remember how the Lord has met you in the past: perhaps you remember going to church as a child, or going for a hike and being overwhelmed by the beauty of the woods. Perhaps you feel closest to the Lord when you are serving others. It’s lovely to begin your retreat reflecting on those times when you felt most close to Jesus.

In Session 3, Luann introduces Journal Keeping, speaking of the benefits as well as giving helpful advice for how to begin. Luann has written a book on journaling (Journal Keeping-Writing for Spiritual Growth) which provides additional ideas for how to use writing as we seek to grow closer to Jesus.

In Session 4, Jackie demonstrates Dialogue Journaling using Genesis 12:10-20. Dialogue Journaling is an easy but powerful way to engage with the stories of the Bible. If you are doing this with a group, it’s really fun to share with others the “hidden treasure” you find. (If you would prefer to use a different passage of Scripture, you can select one of your own or choose one of the additional options under Session 4.)

Sessions 1 - 4 give you various ways to spend time with the Lord. Then, we invite you to spend two hours on your own (Session 5), doing whatever your heart desires as you seek to draw closer to Jesus. If you’ve never done this, you will love it. Have a sack lunch ready and think of this time as having Lunch with Jesus. It’s great to go outside, do something creative, pray, read your Bible, listen to worship music, go for a walk—whatever your heart desires. The goal of this time is to simply draw close to him.

In preparation for the retreat, download the Oasis Retreat Facilitator’s Guide and Schedule and handouts from the suggested list below. You might want to select your own worship music or create your own playlist.

WATCH NOW - Click to go to YouTube. The Oasis Retreat Playlist includes worship music videos, with Luann and Jackie’s video segments included. (You may need to “skip ads” before the music videos will begin.)