Leadership Roles

The leadership team for the retreat leads in cultivating a staff of counselors and CREW members as well as finalizing the logistics and details that make the retreat come together. The different roles on the team work on various aspects of the retreat to set the table well to welcome incoming freshmen into a unified body of Christ on campus and in your city. This team works with the vision of helping freshmen start off college by being firmly rooted in Christ, connected to Christ-centered community, being able to learn from others who have gone before them and lived for Christ in college, and sending them to their campus as missionaries and not just consumers.

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• Directors | Leading all other positions in fulfilling their roles and preparing for the retreat

• Head of Prayer | Leading out in making sure this incoming freshman class is the most prayed over freshman class your campus has ever had

• Counselor Trainers | Oversee counselor selection and counselor preparation for the retreat

• Head of Logistics | In charge of ministry relations, retreat expansion and behind the scenes operations

• Head of Main Sessions | Overseeing set up of room and worship preparations for all main sessions

• Head of Hospitality | Honoring the freshmen by setting up spaces for them to feel comfortable and to be able to connect with others easily

• Head of Public Relations | Overseeing all publicity and communication in spreading word about this retreat to current students and incoming freshmen

• Treasurer and Head of Fundraising | Overseeing all fundraising for the retreat (Fundraisers, Counselor Support Raising, Benefit Night, etc.) & budget

• Head of Registration | Overseeing the registration of all freshmen and staff

• Head of Operations | Overseeing CREW (behind the scenes team) and all necessary set up at the retreat and fundraisers

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Counselor Role

At the retreat freshmen will get to hear from local ministers and learn about churches and ministries in the area, and they will be in small “family groups” led by upperclassmen who are walking with Christ and faithfully involved in churches and local ministries at their campus. As a counselor you will have the opportunity to co-lead one of these small groups at the retreat and continue following up with your group throughout the following school year. The goal is to engage with freshmen where they are at while helping them understand their identity in Christ through the gospel, and how that can impact not only their next four years, but the rest of their life. Counselors seek both to be a blessing to them at the retreat by helping them prepare to start college rooted in Christ, but they also seek to walk alongside their freshmen through their freshman year - it's not just about a few days together, it's about a life lived faithfully for Jesus on campus and everyday thereafter.

CREW Role

Our CREW is a vital part of seeing this retreat run smoothly and provide an enjoyable experience for staff and freshmen! CREW stands for Connect, Rely, Enrich, and Work. Your role on CREW will involve Connecting with freshmen in various ways and helping them connect with others to have a strong Christ-centered community as they start college. Next it will involve Relying on the Lord in big ways as our CREW is the core of our prayer team during the retreat as well. Then we want CREW members to have eyes to see how to serve and work behind the scenes in order to Enrich the lives of freshmen attending. And finally you will Work on crew - setting up, cleaning up, serving, etc - but it will be incredibly fun and rewarding work because you know the impact it's making.

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Time Commitment

At The Oaks Collaborative we believe that your local church is your first commitment and we never want to interfere with your commitments there. The Leadership Team will meet throughout the Spring Semester once a month, we will also have an All Staff meeting and a training session in the Spring for all roles. Each leadership role will have specific administrative responsibilities to take care of whenever they can. All roles are expected to make the retreat a primary prayer point as well and ideally commit to praying over the retreat together. During the summer the Leadership Team will communicate via email and calls as needed. Finally, a few days before the retreat, the Leadership Team will come together to prepare and finalize all plans for the retreat, and a couple days before the retreat we will have the final training for all staff, and prepare for the arrival of the Freshmen!

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