THE
FORMING MEN
RETREAT

This leaves many of us wondering what to do with our strength, our wounds, our longings, and our gifts. Some men bottle their frustration and sadness; others overcompensate through achievement and accomplishment. Others take the time to process God's vision for their life and to deal with their longings and pain. 

We have created the Forming Men Retreat as a place to do just this. Our vision is to form men's hearts to reject the passivity of our moment, without becoming a caricature of our culture.

SOME MEN LIVE THEIR WHOLE LIVES WITH
THEIR DEEPEST DESIRES AND QUESTIONS
LEFT UNMET AND UNANSWERED. IT DOESN'T
HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.

What is the Forming Men Retreat Intensive?

We have designed an immersive, formative experience to help you make sense of your story, redeem your pain, identify your gifts, clarify your vision, and live out your calling.

And you will not do this alone. You will be surrounded by a like-minded community of brothers who will take you seriously, listen deeply and encourage fiercely.

We believe God entrusted each of us with a sphere of influence and a calling to use our strength on behalf of others. We believe this happens best when men are formed into the image of Jesus and bring his passion, kindness, anger, joy and hope to the world.

This retreat is a no phone, no internet retreat. Your phones will be required to be turned in at the beginning of day 1 (more info on how that'll work below).

Some may roll their eyes at an event like this. Others may dismiss it as unnecessary. Yet we believe the world needs men like Jesus, and spaces like this to encounter him in breakthrough ways.

We believe God is a God of spaces and places. That certain spaces can be sacred, or what Dallas Willard calls 'thin places' where Heaven and Earth touch so closely together. That's why we are so careful to choose the right locations for our retreats. And we believe Selah Springs Ranch in Texas is that place. It has been a historic location of Christian witness for years and there is no better place for our few days together than this here.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT YOUR TIME
IN TEXAS, TO HELP YOU PLAN...

The 1,000-acre farm in Texas is a beautiful 2-ish-hour drive from either Austin-Bergstrom Airport or San Antonio Airport. We'd suggest everyone fly into either airport and make sure to land before 1 p.m. on day 1 (the first thing at the ranch is dinner that night around 6 p.m., with welcome and registration starting at 5 p.m.).

The retreat ends on day 4 at 9 am, so plan to leave for your chosen airport around 10 am. You are free to drive yourself to the ranch, but this weekend and the property is an epic retreat center where you will not need a car once you arrive, so I suggest pairing up with 4-6 other members in the group via our Slack and communication channels to all caravan and pitch in together for transportation (and it's the most fun to get to know each other quickly. This also helps us go deeper and farther since connections are made before even arriving on the property).

One thing we believe heartily at Forming Men is that the table matters. Food matters.

Most retreats like this, the food is an afterthought and is only meant to meet the bare minimum requirements (make you not hungry).

But we believe it's integral to a gathering (Deut. 14:25-26). Food and the table are massively central to the Kingdom of God! And because of that, we will not skimp. Kiawe Outdoor will be catering the entire retreat. They are a team of advanced sommeliers from Maui who exclusively cook outdoors and over an open fire, and trust us when we say it's quite an experience. We can't wait!

MOST MEN HAVEN’T
BEEN TAUGHT HOW
TO BE ONE. IT’S
TIME FOR THAT TO
CHANGE.

YOUR GUIDES

Jeff and Jon have a combined 30 years of experience working with and thinking about issues related to men, masculinity, and so on. Jeff leads men and fathers through the online ministry Family Teams, while Jon has been a pastor in New York with a specific call and heart for men for decades.