Mission Yearbook: Daring to say — and play — the ‘G’ word

APCE Annual Event workshop participants play “Reverse Pyramid Build.”
From left are the Rev. Dr. Susan Sharp Campbell, associate for Educational
Ministry, Presbytery of West Virginia; Brittany Porch, director of Mission
and Education, Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio; the Rev.
Cassie Waits, associate pastor of Discipleship, First Presbyterian Church,
Marietta, Georgia; and the Rev. Julie Erkel Hagee, pastor, First Presbyterian
Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Photo by Emily Enders Odom)

As attendees at the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE) 2025 Annual Event entered the meeting room and observed with mounting curiosity the unusual props that surrounded them — decks of cards, mini drinking cups, LEGO® bricks, and even a nickel or two — many wondered what on earth they had signed up for.

Joel Winchip, executive director of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA)/Campfire Collective, quickly explained.

Winship’s workshop, titled “There is No ‘I’ in Team,” was centered on activities designed to help adult groups develop effective communication and problem-solving skills.

“We’re going to talk and play games,” he said, "but when introducing team building-activities to adults, don’t ever call them 'games.'”

“Don’t use the ‘G’ word,” he cautioned. “You might as well just yell, ‘Fire,’ or say, ‘We’re playing name games,’ and everyone will be gone. Just launch into the instructions for what you want to do with your adult group.”

Joel Winchip (standing at right) teaches a group how to play Up Jenkins during
a workshop at the APCE Annual Event. (photo by Emily Enders Odom)

Winchip, who also serves on the adjunct faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he teaches camp/conference ministry and recreation courses, said that in his experience, games using tangible things help adults wrap their heads around what they are doing.

“I’m a big fan of props,” he said.

And, if the workshop participants were ever under the impression that they’d be staying seated and taking notes, out came the props.

Winchip then called everyone to their feet as a succession of games with such names as Up Jenkins, Octopus Draw, Flip Flop Tower, and LEGO® Re-Creation — and hearty laughter ensued.

An hour or so later, Winchip led the exhilarated participants through a debriefing on what they had experienced.

“Through games, you can find out the true dynamics of your group,” he said. “For example, some people like to touch everything and show off what they know. You can tell things like who the introverts are versus the extroverts. Normally, people in recreation cannot hide who they are.”

Because leadership teams, committee members, and ministry staff are all groups that need to work together, game play can help group members broaden their abilities and work together.

“I like incorporating games in adult education,” said the Rev. Cassie Waits, associate pastor of Discipleship at the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Georgia. “And since I’ve never played any of these games before, the workshop was even better than I expected!”

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Todd Ingves, Vice President, Health & Well Being, Board of Pensions 
• Jose Irizarry, Vice President, Education, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

Our loving Lord, we humbly return a portion of the bounty you have so generously given, so that, through your Holy Spirit, these gifts may be multiplied and creatively used among our neighbors as you see fit. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - APCE Annual Event workshop offers a how-to on retreat planning

Joel Winchip of the Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association shares from his decades of experience

March 19, 2024

Standing in the back row near the center, Joel Winchip, executive 

director of the Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association/

Campfire Collective, strikes up a pose during last week’s APCE 

Annual Event. (Photo courtesy of the PCCCA)

Joel Winchip, executive director of the Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association/Campfire Collective, recently led a workshop at the APCE Annual Event that relied on his and others’ decades of experience helping congregations, mid councils and other groups to plan and pull off meaningful retreats.

Winchip, who also teaches courses on camp and conference ministry and recreation at Columbia Theological Seminary, called his APCE workshop “Planning Our Escape: Putting Together Your Next Retreat.”

Retreats can “go deeper,” he said, “because they’re a residential experience. It’s one thing to share a hymnbook during worship. It’s another thing to share a sink while you brush your teeth.”

In planning a retreat’s content, Winchip offered advice that included “do group-building from the get-go” and “use your surroundings. Don’t do Sunday school in the woods.”

“We want structure, but not too much structure,” he said. “Folks don’t want to go on a retreat to recover from the one you just gave them. We want people to feel the change of pace.”

If you’re on staff of the group that’s planning and doing the retreat, “delegate as much leadership as possible,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be cool if it was lay led?” That way, “staff can be part of the retreat along with everybody else.”

If children are invited, there must be content for them as well. Evaluations are a must, but don’t read them until at least a week or two following the retreat, Winchip suggested.

An important part of planning is budgeting. Winchip recommended charging what the retreat costs, “and scholarship it heavily,” he said. Do a “deep dive” into what the retreat center offers. Winchip once worked at one that offered free hayrides to retreat participants, but the information wasn’t included on the facility’s website. “Find out what’s around the site to do,” he recommended.

Promoting the event can include social media, announcements during worship and through newsletters, calls to people you’re inviting. and a staffed table at church where questions can be asked and answered.

Resources containing retreat curriculum and help finding retreat centers are here and here.

“There are plenty of options,” Winchip said. “I hope you’ll use them and adapt them to your situation.”

Winchip fielded questions following his presentation. One idea for a scavenger hunt he’s used is to distribute paint swatches to retreat groups with the goal of finding each color option in nature. “It’s not as hard as you think it is,” Winchip said. “God created all those colors in nature.”

Seminary students have learned the art of encouraging retreat-goers to use their phones to take scenic photos and as a group combine them into montages to share with others. “Bonus points for a living animal running around,” Winchip said.

One workshop participant had a good experience inviting youth at church to create TikToks to promote an upcoming retreat. Asked about creating a code of conduct or behavior expectations for an upcoming retreat, Winchip suggested having the youth come up with the standards. “Sometimes they’re harder on themselves,” he said. “Let them be the bearer of bad news to those who are going to act out.”

On the registration form, it can be helpful to include a line for people to indicate, “I’d like a scholarship in this amount” or “I’d like to pay for another family to go on this retreat.”

“We try to keep [the registration cost] low because we think it’s evangelism,” Winchip said. “But that price point is eating our lunch.”

Winchip had one final word of advice: “Go where your people need to go,” he said. “The most important thing is your people need to go on retreat and have an incredible time.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Joel Winchip of the Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association shares at an APCE Annual Event Workshop

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Dana Dages, Digital Project Manager, Communications Ministry, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
Leon Davis, Dishwasher, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency 

Let us pray

We thank you, Lord, for working in our lives. May you use us as servants and leaders to help grow the church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.