All Church Retreat 2025: Registration Opens

We are having an all church retreat - and we need YOU there!

In a world where time is our most valuable asset and deep friendships can be few and far between, we often find ourselves feeling as if we are missing something. We want to invite you to join us for an intentional weekend away to learn about what it means to invest in authentic friendships.

Studies show that it takes 40-60 hours to become casual friends, 80-100 hours to become friends, and over 200 hours to become close friends with someone - we want you to see this retreat as a way to increase your friendship hours with one another here at Community Church!

The 2025 All Church Retreat will be in Carlsbad, CA Friday, June 13 - Sunday, June 15.

Scroll down to learn about lodging options, pricing, and explore our FAQ's. Registration for the retreat will open this Friday, November 1. Check back here for the Registration link!

Cost.

Cost for the retreat is $50 per adult, $25 for children (ages 3-12). There is a maximum family rate of $150.

Scholarships are available, we do not want finances to be a limitation! To learn more about scholarships, please contact Natalie Davis at NDavis@SMCommunityChurch.com.

Lodging.

Just like last year, there are multiple options available for lodging. The retreat will be based in Carlsbad, CA.

Option 1: Book a room in our pre-reserved hotel Block. This year, we have a block of hotel rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. Community Church has procured a special block rate, but please note you do need to book your reservation yourself. Just use our block code SMCC when making your reservation.

No matter where you end up lodging, all of our main gatherings (Friday night, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning) will be held in the meeting room of this hotel.

Option 2: Camping with Community Church! If you’re feeling bold, we are also going to be camping at Carlsbad State Beach! You can reserve your spot directly with SMCC when you register for the retreat. SMCC will take care of reserving the campsite, but you will be expected to bring your own camping accommodations (whether it be tents, camper, or a blowup mattress situated in your care!), and please note space is limited.

Option 3: Choose your own adventure. If neither of the above options feel like a good fit for you, you may find your own lodging. There are many hotels and Airbnb's in the Carlsbad area! However, we do hope that you will still participate in all of the activities with us at the hotel.

Reserving your spot.

Bookmark this webpage and return Friday, November 1! We will have a link to our registration form here.

Please note, if you are planning to book a room in our hotel block (or another hotel in the area), we recommend you do this before filling out the registration form. If you are planning to camp, please go directly to the form to reserve your spot.

FAQ's.

Why an all church retreat? The church is not sustainable if we only spend an hour together on Sunday mornings, which is why we want to provide an opportunity to increase our time together. We may not even know it, but our new best friend could be sitting just a few pews away, or even in the next service! The all church retreat is open to everyone who is part of our church - from the pastor’s family, to the member who joined last month, to the 8th grader who only attends youth group, to the people who have participated in this community for over 50 years. It is rare we get to bring all corners of our church together, and this retreat is the perfect chance to make that happen. As a result of last year's retreat, we have had new members volunteer in our ministries, we have brought in a youth deacon, and we have begun to build friendships across generations. There’s no reason to stop that now!

Why should I go? Because San Marino Community Church is not complete without YOU! Not only is this an opportunity to learn about how to invest in your personal friendships, but it’s a chance to grow new ones in a community that you are already familiar with.

What will we be talking about? Friendship! We know that we were not created to do this life alone, and yet loneliness is one of the biggest epidemics our world faces today. We see countless stories in scripture about the value of having a close friend to walk through life together, and even Jesus himself modeled that for us. SMCC has been known as a community church for decades, and community starts with friendship. Along with participating in friendship building activities, we will be reflecting on how God invites us into relationship with one another - and with Him as well!

What will we be doing? The weekend will be a combination of spiritual reflection, small group discussion, and fun activities! When we are not sharing a meal together and listening to God’s word, we will have several opportunities to engage with one another such as playing volleyball and building sand castles on the beach, wine tasting, going for a hike, and enjoying a cup of coffee. We will also get the chance to hear from Erin Dufault-Hunter, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Seminary. An official schedule will be posted early next year.