Why Summer Team Building Matters for Fall Retreats
The most impactful fall retreats don't begin when you arrive at your destination—they start months earlier with intentional team building. Summer provides an ideal season to lay this groundwork through outdoor activities, community service, and relationship development.
Camp Tekoa in Hendersonville, North Carolina offers the perfect fall retreat destination, with facilities that can accommodate groups ranging from 20-275 people. Their mission of "Touching hearts, changing lives, sharing the light of Christ" extends beyond their beautiful 285-bed facility to the preparation that happens before your group arrives.
By incorporating these summer team building activities into your pre-retreat planning, you'll create a sense of anticipation, establish trust, and develop a shared language that makes your fall retreat experience significantly more meaningful. Let's explore activities designed specifically for different group types.
Team Building Activities for Youth Groups
1. Progressive Adventure Challenge
Create a series of monthly outdoor challenges that progressively build skills your youth will use during their fall retreat. Start with simple trust exercises in June, add navigation challenges in July, and culminate with a mini-camping experience in August.
How it prepares for fall: Youth arrive at the retreat with confidence in their outdoor abilities and established trust with peers.
2. Digital Scavenger Hunt
Design a summer-long digital scavenger hunt where teams document themselves completing service projects, faith challenges, or finding specific landmarks in your community. Use a dedicated hashtag or private social channel to share progress.
How it prepares for fall: Builds anticipation while creating a visual record of your group's journey toward the retreat.
3. Rotating Leadership Devotionals
Assign youth to lead weekly devotionals throughout summer, rotating responsibility and providing a supportive framework for success. Focus themes around the upcoming retreat's spiritual goals.
How it prepares for fall: Develops confidence in spiritual leadership and public speaking before the retreat environment.
4. Community Garden Project
Partner with a local community garden or start a small garden at your facility. Assign teams to plant, maintain, and harvest throughout summer, then prepare a meal together from what you've grown.
How it prepares for fall: Teaches patience, teamwork, and the rewards of consistent effort—all values that enhance retreat experiences.
5. Campfire Story Chain
Host an evening campfire where students collaboratively create a story, each adding a section that incorporates a personal challenge they've overcome. Record these stories to revisit during your fall retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Practices vulnerability and active listening in a low-pressure environment.
6. Service Project Series
Plan three progressive service projects throughout summer, each requiring more collaboration and problem-solving than the last. Conclude each project with reflection on how the experience connects to your fall retreat themes.
How it prepares for fall: Creates a service-minded community ready to engage deeply with retreat content.
7. Obstacle Course Design Challenge
Challenge youth teams to design and build sections of an obstacle course using household materials. Combine their creations into one large course and run it together.
How it prepares for fall: Develops creative problem-solving skills that will enhance participation in Camp Tekoa's adventure elements like their 40-foot climbing tower, multiple ziplines, and challenge courses.
8. Team Covenant Creation
Facilitate a collaborative process where youth create a "retreat covenant" throughout summer, adding new elements each week based on their experiences together. Bring the completed covenant to your fall retreat for a signing ceremony.
How it prepares for fall: Establishes group norms and expectations before arriving at the retreat center.
Team Building Activities for Corporate Groups
9. Skill Exchange Program
Create a summer program where team members teach each other skills in 30-minute sessions. These can be professional skills or personal talents, from Excel tricks to playing guitar.
How it prepares for fall: Builds appreciation for diverse talents within your team and breaks down departmental silos before the retreat.
10. Progressive Project Challenge
Identify a meaningful project that benefits your organization or community. Break it into stages that must be completed collaboratively throughout summer, culminating in a presentation during your fall retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Develops project management skills and demonstrates the impact of sustained collaboration.
11. Outdoor Strategy Sessions
Move one meeting per month outside during summer. Change environments from a local park to a hiking trail to a lakeside location, intentionally shifting from formal to increasingly casual settings.
How it prepares for fall: Acclimates team members to thinking creatively in outdoor environments similar to your retreat setting.
12. Team Fitness Challenge
Create a 12-week fitness challenge with both individual and team components. Track progress visually and celebrate milestones, with final recognition planned for your fall retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Builds camaraderie through shared goals while preparing participants physically for retreat activities like hiking trails and adventure elements at Camp Tekoa.
13. Problem-Solving Progression
Present increasingly complex workplace challenges biweekly, requiring teams to collaborate on solutions with different constraints each time. Document insights to review during your retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Strengthens analytical thinking and adaptability before tackling strategic planning at your retreat.
14. Rotating Social Coordination
Assign different team members to plan monthly social gatherings with specific budget and inclusion requirements. Each event should incorporate an element that connects to your fall retreat theme.
How it prepares for fall: Develops leadership and event planning skills while building relationships outside work contexts.
15. Cross-Department Shadowing
Establish a summer program where team members spend half-days shadowing colleagues from different departments. Participants document insights and prepare short presentations for your fall retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Creates organizational awareness and empathy that enhances strategic discussions during your retreat.
16. Virtual Team Room
Create a virtual "team room" using collaborative platforms where members contribute ideas, resources, and questions about your upcoming retreat. Schedule weekly chat sessions to discuss specific retreat preparation topics.
How it prepares for fall: Maintains momentum and builds anticipation while creating a repository of ideas to incorporate into your retreat.
Universal Team Building Activities
17. Story Circle Progression
Host monthly gatherings where participants share personal stories around themes that progressively deepen—from childhood memories to life-changing moments. Document themes that emerge to incorporate into your retreat curriculum.
How it prepares for fall: Establishes emotional safety and practiced vulnerability before the retreat environment.
18. Creative Expression Workshop Series
Organize progressive workshops exploring different creative mediums (writing, art, movement) that connect to your retreat theme. Compile individual creations into a collaborative project to complete during your fall retreat.
How it prepares for fall: Develops comfort with self-expression and creative thinking in a supportive environment.
19. Wellness Journey Mapping
Create a summer wellness program where participants identify personal growth goals across multiple dimensions (physical, spiritual, emotional). Meet biweekly to share progress and support one another.
How it prepares for fall: Establishes a common language around wellness and personal development before your retreat.
20. Progressive Potluck Series
Host monthly potluck gatherings where the menu complexity increases each time, from simple appetizers to multi-course international cuisine. Incorporate table questions that progressively deepen conversation.
How it prepares for fall: Builds community through shared meals while practicing increasingly meaningful conversations.
21. Book Study Progression
Select three books to read throughout summer that connect to your retreat theme, moving from lighter to more challenging content. Meet to discuss insights and maintain a shared journal of key takeaways.
How it prepares for fall: Develops a shared intellectual foundation for deeper retreat discussions.
22. Community Impact Project
Identify a local women's shelter or support organization and develop a summer-long service relationship. Plan activities that progressively move from donation collection to direct service to advocacy.
How it prepares for fall: Creates a shared purpose and outward focus that can be reflected upon during retreat sessions.
23. Retreat Vision Board Party
Host a mid-summer gathering where participants create both personal and group vision boards for what they hope to experience and achieve during your fall retreat. Display these prominently in your meeting space throughout summer.
How it prepares for fall: Visualizes retreat goals and builds anticipation for the experience.
24. Progressive Nature Connection
Schedule three nature experiences of increasing duration and immersion throughout summer—perhaps a two-hour nature walk in June, a half-day hike in July, and an overnight camping trip in August.
How it prepares for fall: Acclimates participants to outdoor experiences while building appreciation for natural settings like Camp Tekoa's 354-acre property with its beautiful lake, forests, and mountain views.
25. Spiritual Practice Exploration
Introduce a different spiritual discipline each week throughout summer (prayer walking, contemplative reading, labyrinth walking, journaling). Participants practice individually then share experiences at weekly gatherings.
How it prepares for fall: Develops a toolkit of spiritual practices that can be deepened during your retreat experience.
Implementing Your Summer Team Building Plan
For maximum impact, consider these implementation tips:
- Create a visual timeline showing how summer activities build toward your fall retreat
- Assign champions for different activities rather than placing all responsibility on the main leader
- Document experiences through photos, journals, and video to reference during your retreat
- Build in reflection moments after each activity to help participants connect the experience to your retreat goals
- Maintain communication through a dedicated channel that builds excitement for both upcoming summer activities and the fall retreat
FAQs About Summer Team Building for Fall Retreats
How far in advance should we start summer team building for a fall retreat?
Ideally, begin your summer team building activities 3-4 months before your scheduled retreat. This provides sufficient time to build relationships and momentum without losing energy before the retreat date.
How can we maintain momentum throughout the summer months?
Create a visual calendar of activities, assign leadership roles to different team members, and establish regular communication channels to share updates and excitement about both upcoming activities and the fall retreat.
What if some group members can't participate in all summer activities?
Design your program with core and supplemental activities. Ensure key relationship-building happens during core activities scheduled when most members can attend, and provide catch-up opportunities for those who miss sessions.
How do we connect summer activities explicitly to our fall retreat?
Begin and end each summer activity with a brief discussion of how it relates to your retreat goals. Create a simple visual or verbal cue (like a tagline or symbol) that you use consistently to reinforce the connection.
Can these activities work for intergenerational groups?
Absolutely! Many of these activities can be adapted for mixed-age groups by adjusting complexity and physical requirements. Intergenerational participation often enhances the experience by bringing diverse perspectives.
Plan Your Fall Retreat at Camp Tekoa
As you implement these summer team building activities, it's the perfect time to secure your fall retreat dates at Camp Tekoa. Our Hendersonville, NC location offers the ideal setting for groups that have built momentum through summer activities to experience transformation together.
With facilities that include cabins and lodges accommodating up to 285 guests, adventure elements like ziplines and climbing towers, and beautiful natural surroundings, Camp Tekoa provides the perfect environment for your group to harvest the relationships and growth planted during summer.
Contact Camp Tekoa online today or at (828) 692-6516 to discuss fall retreat availability and begin planning your group's transformative mountain experience.
Want to learn more? Read our article, What Happens on a Christian Retreat?