Once upon a time, the religious and faith-based events market was a niche. A small niche, if you accepted the conventional wisdom. There were occasional large-scale events, Southern Baptist or Seventh Day Adventist gatherings that drew tens of thousands. But most of the market was small, a few dozen summer campers from this congregation or that, a few hundred delegates voting on policy decisions for one denomination or another. Today’s reality is very different.
Religious and faith-based events draw between 8 and 10 million attendees annually in the U.S. alone, according to the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA). Major religious events rival Fortune 1000 events in terms of production values, sophistication, quality and creative content. Religious events compete in the same markets as corporate and association events, often for the same facilities.
“Our average faith-based youth group in January, February and March is 5,000,” says Fred Wise, director of sales and marketing for the Ocean City Convention Center in Ocean City, Md. “Religious groups have maxed out our quarter-million-square-foot convention center. Every expansion we have brought on-line they have absorbed and asked for more.”
At the other end of the size scale, Green Gulch Farm in Northern California gets as many RFPs from medical, legal and social justice groups as from faith-based organizations, says Conference/Retreat Coordinator Shokuchi Carrigan.
“We have the latest presentation technology but no cellphone coverage,” she says, “which can be a very attractive combination for groups that want to focus intently without interruption.”
Here is an overview of various destinations and facilities angling for the religious and faith-based market.
Camp Canaan
Camp Canaan hosts youth summer camps and adult retreats on a 100-acre island in the Catawba River near Rock Hill, S.C., 25 minutes south of Charlotte, N.C. Camps are focused on adventure as a tool to build trust, critical thinking and key interpersonal skills. Two retreat cabins house a total of 56 attendees, with meeting space for 120.
For more rustic or private events, a separate campground can accommodate groups of up to 50 in riverside tents. The meeting facility is a 700-square-foot yurt with windows on all sides and a clear top for natural lighting throughout the day.
Adventure activities include zip lines, kayaking and both high and low ropes courses. Activity programs are divided between youth camps and adult retreats.PageBreak
Conference Point Center
This 21-acre peninsula on Geneva Lake in southern Wisconsin is best known as the birthplace of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in 1886. Now owned by the National Council of Churches, Conference Point focuses on religious education and mission conferences; congregational, denominational, interdenominational and interfaith research and planning; and cooperative consultation and planning for Christian programs in the Midwest.
The center is open all year, although more beds are available in summer. Accommodations are a mix of single- and double-occupancy rooms and multi-occupancy rooms. Meeting facilities can accommodate groups from 10 to 450.
Cruise Meetings
Religious leaders and planners are following the same cues as other special interest groups and taking their events to sea. Whether it is a full ship charter or a block of a dozen cabins, cruise ships offer significant advantages for religious meetings.
“Having a private environment where you can repeatedly call your group to action is a huge advantage,” says Jo Kling, president of cruise planning group Landry & Kling in Miami. “And cruising can offer significant cost benefits compared to land-based facilities. Signing up for a ‘faith vacation’ is a no-brainer.”
Cruise ship meeting space is state-of-the-art, she adds, and cruise lines handle details like menus, meeting space setup and scheduling—a tremendous time-saver for planners.
Green Gulch Farm
Green Gulch Farm is a Zen retreat and conference center just north of San Francisco. Most of the facility is a working farm, and meeting rooms and simple overnight facilities can handle groups of up to 30. There is no cellphone reception, but the residential and meeting space has Wi-Fi and the latest presentation technology. Attendees are welcome to join regular meditation sessions, but Zen does not proselytize, says Conference/Retreat Coordinator Shokuchi Carrigan.
“It is a very quiet place, ideal for small working groups who want to focus on their own mission and purpose without a lot of distraction,” she says. “Our only real rule for attendees is that they not disturb the peaceful atmosphere.”PageBreak
Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center
Lake Junaluska calls itself a place of Christian hospitality. The North Carolina center is dedicated to the needs of The United Methodist Church, but is open to other events. Meeting facilities can handle small work teams or groups that need 2,000 seats under one roof.
On-site activities include an 18-hole, 5,034-yard, par-68 golf course, pool, boat rentals, tennis, shuffleboard, mini golf and a fitness center. Two local outfitters offer white-water rafting on the Nantahala, French Broad and Pigeon rivers. Cataloochee Ski Area and Wolf Ridge Ski Resort are nearby, and there are hiking trails within the center as well as at nearby Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Pisgah National Forest.
Montreat Conference Center
Montreat is a national conference center of the Presbyterian Church, dedicated to providing inspiration, comfort and gracious hospitality to all. The center has 4,000 acres near Asheville, N.C., with 21 hiking trails and 2,500 acres of dedicated wilderness. Accommodations include historic stone inns, guest lodges and camping, all served by a common dining room. A total of 30 meeting rooms can handle groups ranging from two dozen to 2,000.
Outdoor activities range from hiking, fishing, rock climbing, canoeing and swimming to softball, volleyball and tennis. More-formal activities include barn dances, concerts, lectures, music seminars, art films, crafts and pottery.
Ocean City, Md.
The Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Md., has developed a thriving business with faith-based and youth events. Winter weekends are packed with religious youth groups; the spring season brings their adult counterparts.
“Being a beach resort helps, even in winter,” says Fred Wise, director of sales and marketing for the convention center. “It may be 30 degrees, but kids are out there, looking at the beach before they head back for the indoor swimming pools at our hotels and the game and activity rooms organizers have set up in our meeting spaces. We work hard to make it easy for groups to come back year after year.”PageBreak
Palomar Christian Conference Center
PCCC is a nondenominational Christian camp and conference center near the Mount Palomar Observatory in Southern California. The center hosts about 12,000 attendees for camps and retreats annually.
“Our biggest priority is service,” says Executive Director Micah Beard. “We want to take all the work off group leaders so they can minister to their groups.”
Palomar can handle groups of 35, but Beard prefers groups of at least 150 in summer. With 225 campers, groups get exclusive use of the center. Seven meeting rooms seat 10 to 320.
Basic activities—swimming pool, archery, campfire rings, basketball, volleyball and other games—are free. Paintball, horseback riding, shooting range and nighttime astronomy hikes carry additional charges.
Refreshing Mountain Camp
Refreshing Mountain Camp offers non-denominational Christian retreat and conference space for groups of 20 to 400 on 80 rural acres in Lancaster County, Pa. Activities include swimming, ropes courses, multiple zip lines, physical challenge courses, an indoor climbing wall and outdoor climbing tower, archery and slingshot ranges, paintball and two gyms.
“We are all about adventure in a Christ-centered facility,” says Office Manager Justin Harnish. “We have a dozen ziplines, plus other high adventure. It’s great fun, but it’s really about learning discipline, working together and building relationships. If you’re trying to move around on logs and ropes that are slung 40 feet in the air, you learn about teamwork in a hurry.”PageBreak
Ridgecrest Conference Center
Ridgecrest is one of the larger Christian conference centers in the country, owned and operated by LifeWay Christian Resources. The 1,300-acre center in Ridgecrest, N.C., offers accommodations ranging from deluxe hotel to family housing, youth housing, tent sites and an RV park. Event spaces run the gamut from configurable boardroom and classroom setups to a 2,200-seat auditorium with the latest in sound, lighting and special effects technology.
Outdoor activities include hiking, fishing, miniature golf, disc golf, tennis, volleyball and, in season, whitewater rafting and skiing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ridgecrest caters to Christian planners dealing with everything from retreats for 10 to mass spiritual events for thousands.
St. Dorothy’s Rest
St. Dorothy’s is the oldest church camp in California, founded in 1901 and run by the Episcopal Diocese of the state. The prime attraction is a collection of arts and craft-style mansions built in a redwood forest two hours north of San Francisco, says Executive Director Katie Evenbeck.
“We are a camp and retreat center, not a conference center,” she says. “Our primary group space is an oversized living room with a fireplace, so we’re really more comfortable for groups of 50 and less.”
Typical camp activities include arts and crafts classes, kayaking on the nearby Russian River, and a 10.5-mile hike to the Pacific Ocean.
Fred Gebhart has been a faithful contributor to Meetings Focus for years, covering numerous topics and destinations.
