WINTER RETREAT 2022: SURGE
Dates: December 29-31, 2022
Location: Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel
Address: 1800 50th Street, West Des Moines, Iowa, 50266
Registration Types:
- Student – $139
- Subsidized Leader – $109
- Unsubsidized Leader – $139
REGISTRATION IS TRANSFERABLE to another student or leader in your group, but WILL NOT BE REFUNDED.
Registration Deadlines:
- ALL STUDENTS AND LEADERS must be registered online by Wednesday, December 7th to avoid a $30 per person late fee.
- Final registration closes on Wednesday, December 14th. (Late fee will apply between Dec. 7 and Dec. 14)
- No subsidized leaders will be accepted after Wednesday, December 7th.
Garland Owensby was born and raised in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. He is married to Tiffani and they have three sons, Austin, Bryson, and Logan.
Garland ministered as a children’s/teen evangelist with Don Triplett and the Castillo del Rey team in El Salvador, Central America. A highlight of the year was leading over 400 students in spreading the Gospel to in excess of 150,000 people in just three days!
Garland was the youth pastor at Northside Assembly of God, Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The group saw tremendous growth as well as discipleship and evangelistic involvement.
In 1993, Garland and Tiffani accepted the youth pastorate of First Assembly of God, Ocala, Florida. This group also saw great growth both in spiritual and numerical matters. Speed the Light giving quadrupled during his ministry there.
The Fall of 1998 was his first semester as Youth & Student Ministries Coordinator and professor for SAGU. He is dedicated to equipping young men and women for a lifetime of ministry to youth.
He is also a frequent speaker at youth conferences, conventions, camps and churches all over the United States communicating the Gospel in a clear, relevant and funny style. Your group will be challenged to not only think but also do what the Scripture calls for.
Owensby has contributed to YouthWorker Journal, Youth Leader Magazine, The Ocala Star-Banner, the Pentecostal Evangel, TheRomantic.com, The52.com, Ministry Pass, numerous blogs and the book “Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks 3” edited by Wayne Rice and to Group Magazine writing the feature article “Uncommon Communion”.
In addition to youth ministry, Garland has pursued stand-up comedy and frequently travels performing. He has performed at the world famous Improv, Addison and Arlington, TX, Hyenas, Arlington, and After Hours Improv, Waxahachie, TX. Owensby received national exposure on XM/Sirius satellite radio’s clean comedy channel Laugh USA. Garland has released three comedy CD’s “GO Time”, “Side Hugs” and “Manly-Man” available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify and Pandora.
Schedule:
Thursday, December 29
3:00pm Registration
6:00pm Pre-Service Prayer – Polk Room
6:45pm Doors open for Service
7:00pm Service – Ballroom
10:30pm-12:30am Late-Night Activity – MidAmerican Energy RecPlex, 6500 Grand Ave., West Des Moines, IA 50265
12am Curfew: Return to your rooms
Friday, December 30
8:45am Doors open for Service
9:00am General Session – Ballroom
9:15am Breakout #1 – Polk
10:15am Breakout #2 – Dallas
11:15am Breakout #3 – Ballroom
12:00pm Lunch/Free Time
6:00pm Pre-Service Prayer
6:45pm Doors open for Service
7:00pm Service
10:30pm-12:00pm Late-Night Activity – Ballroom
12am Curfew: Return to your rooms
Saturday, December 31
8:45pm Doors open for Service
9:00am Service
10:30am Winter Retreat PICTURE
11:00am Dismissal
Winter Retreat Guidelines
Listen UP: All students are expected to cooperate and follow the direction of their group leaders, Winter Retreat staff, and hotel personnel.
Curfew is not optional: No one is to be outside their room or in anyone else’s room after curfew without a leader present. If your group returns to the hotel after curfew, please proceed quietly to your rooms. Shouting, loud talking, slamming doors, etc. should be avoided.
House rules: You need to make sure that you follow and obey all the rules and policies at the hotel. This also applies to the late-night activity locations, area restaurants and malls.
No trespassing: You are not to be in anyone else’s room without their permission. Make sure that you close and lock your room whenever you are not present.
The boy/girl thing: Guys are not allowed in girl’s rooms, girls are not allowed in guy’s rooms – PERIOD. The only exception to this is if a group leader wants to gather students for pizza, etc. in a room. There must be adequate leadership supervision. No adult leader is to be alone in a room with a student at ANY time.
Find your floor: Do not use the elevators just for fun. Use them to get to your floor and then exit the elevator. There are stairways, please use them.
No smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs, and tobacco: These things are not permitted at Winter Retreat. Students have the opportunity to turn those things in right away to their group leaders and work things out with them. If students are caught with these items, they will be dismissed from Winter Retreat and will need to be picked up immediately by a parent or guardian at their own expense, without refund of registration.
You break it, you buy it: Damage to the hotel and its property, Winter Retreat equipment, band equipment, or property of Central Region Open Bible is not allowed and is the responsibility of those who cause the damage. Individuals/groups will be held responsible for the cost of repair or replacement of damaged items.
Leaders – We ask that you not rent pay-per-view movies in your rooms following late night activities. Our curfew is late and if you rent a movie, you end up staying up until 3:00am or so watching it. This really inhibits students’ ability to get anything out of the services the next day.
Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel is located at 1800 50th Street, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266.
The Sheraton West Des Moines has spacious hotel rooms with high-speed Wi-Fi, 2 restaurants, and great views of the city. The Sheraton is close in proximity to Jordan Creek Town Center and many restaurants. The spacious convention center is perfect for Open Bible Central’s Winter Retreat!
Registration Forms
Leader Materials
Student Handout
Student Handout
Call us at 515-282-6491 and we will get more out to you.
Leaders' Planning Guide
Leaders' Planning Guide
Poster
8.5 x 11 PaperPoster
Artwork
