Winter Blast
Winter Retreats to Connect Youth Groups Together
Connect
Challenge
All-Inclusive
Michigan Winter Youth Group Retreats
Bring your group to a life-changing weekend at Grace Adventures. This isn’t your ordinary winter retreat. Grace provides a distinctive experience by removing the responsibility of planning and running a youth retreat, allowing you and your leaders to focus on connecting with and discipling your students. Let us take care of the scheduling, cooking, and speaking so that your youth group can have fun and grow closer to God and one another.
Join us for a winter weekend and experience fun activities like our climbing wall, snowtubing, broomball, horseback trail rides, laser tag, and much more!
2026 Dates, Speakers, Bands
Session 1
January 9-11
Middle & High School
Speaker: Joey Anderson
Worship Band: TBD
Status: Open
Session 2
January 16-18
Middle & High School
Speaker: Chuck Connell
Worship Band: Olive Worship
Status: Open
Chuck works as a youth pastor for the Evangelical Covenant Church of Whitehall. Prior to his current role, he served seven years in the United States Army and was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When Chuck isn't spending time with his wife, Courtney, and their two sons, you can find him actively involved in his community or speaking at a camp near you!
Session 3
January 30- Feb 1
Middle School Only
Speaker: Ben Vander Kodde
Worship Band: TBD
Status: Open
Ben Vander Kodde has worked at Grace Adventures in Silver Lake, MI since 2000. He loves to live an adventurous life for Jesus Christ.
As a speaker, trainer, facilitator, and coach, he ministers to others at the Grace Adventures campus and wherever God leads. He loves to learn from God's Word and share with others. He believes that stories help people engage and understand God's powerful truths and the Holy Spirit enables lives to be transformed!
He and his beautiful wife Laura have 4 incredible kids.
Session 4
February 6-8
Middle & High School
Speaker: Jason Magnuson
Worship Band: TBD
Status: Open
Jason Magnuson has been in youth ministry for over 15 years in a wide variety of church and non-profit contexts. He is currently the youth pastor at Hopevale Church in Saginaw, MI. Jason has his Masters of Divinity from Cornerstone Theological Seminary, and seeks to apply that training to raise up the next generation of church leaders through discipleship and leadership training from a Biblical worldview.
Session 5
February 13-15
High School Only
Speaker: Apollo McCullough
Worship Band: TBD
Status: Open
Currently serving as the Lead Pastor at Port City Church McGraft, Apollo has 8 years of experience in ministry, including 6 years devoted to youth ministry. He possesses a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that come with mentoring young hearts.
Apollo's passion for preaching God’s Word is ignited by witnessing firsthand the transformative power of the Gospel. This fuels his dedication to reaching the lost and building up the saints, sharing the Gospel's transformative power in every way he can.
Session 6
February 20-22
Middle & High School
Speaker: TBD
Worship Band: TBD
Status: Open
2026 Retreat Rates
Students
Includes:
- All Lodging and Meals
- All Activities
- All Sessions
Leaders
Includes:
- All Lodging and Meals
- All Activities
- All Sessions
Cancellation Policy
Upon registration, a $25.00 Non-Refundable deposit is due per reservation.* Any cancellations will forfeit that deposit.
Canceling spots within 45 days of the retreat, you are obligated to 60% of your retreat fee
Canceling spots within 14 days of the retreat, you are obligated to the full retreat fee.
* If any of your participants has COVID-19 or is quarantining because of COVID-19 exposure and needs to cancel their reservation, we will work with your church for a partial or full refund of that participant’s fees.
Tentative Schedule
Friday
7:00 Registration / Move-In
8:00 Session 1
9:00 Small Group Time
9:30 Evening Activities
11:15 Cabin Time
Saturday
8:30 Breakfast
9:45 Session 2
10:45 Small Group Time
11:30 Large Group Game
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Free Time Activities
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Session 3
8:45 Small Group Time
9:15 Evening Activities
Sunday
9:30 Breakfast
10:30 Session 4
11:45 Small Group Time
12:15 Pack and Depart
“Having a weekend dedicated to God is something unique and I would dare to say foundational in today’s world. Days move fast, technology makes them move faster. Having time that has been prayed for, planned, and executed in the name of God is a vital reset.
Grace Adventures has been an incredible partner with my youth group for the last several years. We are a high-energy group that loves lots of flexibility and options. Grace Adventures has come alongside us to curate amazing weekends that work specifically to our group’s needs. I am so thankful for this facility and their great staff and will always love working with them.”
– Leader, Grace Community Church