Planning a Family Summit

Sonrise Mountain Ranch offers family summit opportunities to inspire and equip families to live for the Kingdom of God.  Summits are designed for families that are unlikely or unable to attend a family retreat at Sonrise.  Summits are short (2 or 3 days), relatively inexpensive, able to accommodate large numbers, and easily accessible as they take place at a church or conference center in the local area.

You can plan a Family Summit in your area with these steps.

  1. An individual representing a team, church, or organization invites SMR to conduct a Family Summit, normally 4 to 12 months prior to the summit date. This individual serves as the main point of contact and normally as the Summit Host.
  2. The Summit Host and SMR work out the logistical plans and financial arrangements.
  3. Summit promotion normally begins 3 months prior to the summit date.
  4. SMR prepares the program, helps train the volunteers, and consults on the logistical arrangements for the summit. The Summit Host coordinates to provide volunteers (if needed), suitable facilities, food service, and janitorial services. Two conference calls are scheduled 60 days and 30 days prior to the summit dates to ensure good communication.
  5. The SMR Summit team arrives 1 or 2 days prior to the summit and normally leaves the day after.

Different Levels of Summit Programming

Adult Program Only: SMR can provide a four-session program that is especially targeted to married couples or single parents who still have children in the home. Couples who have grown children or no children and single adults who are considering family life should also find the summit valuable. The adult program includes four small group sessions that provide an opportunity for participants to personalize and apply the lessons during the summit.

Adult and Children’s Program: SMR can provide the adult program with the addition of a children’s program which runs concurrent with the adult sessions. Families will be together for meals, worship time, family challenges, and games.

Other Summit Elements

Food: The Summit Host will need to coordinate for food service during the summit.

Worship: Typically, either the Sonrise team or a local team can lead two or three family worship sets during the summit.

Childcare: If SMR is facilitating the Adult Program only, the Summit Host may provide a team of local childcare workers to conduct a program and care for children during the summit.

Summit Size: The normal family summit size is between 35 and 100 families.

Summit Costs

The cost for each summit depends on the location, duration, and required staff / volunteer team to effectively conduct the summit. Typical summit costs include staff travel, lodging, food, conference materials, and a small programming fee. Normally, these costs range in total from $3500 to $5000. The normal registration fee for a family summit ranges from $50 to $75 per family. Consequently, the registration fees can cover a large portion of the summit cost.  Some organizations choose to lower the registration fees by underwriting a portion of the summit costs.

Please contact us to discuss bringing a summit to your area.