The Well Retreat: Where Women Encounter Miraculous Healings, Restored Marriages, and Prophetic Activation
When God sends an invitation: "Come Away With Me," you show up, and you brace yourself for a life-altering encounter. That's exactly why nearly 200 women from around the world will be doing March 17 - 22 at the upcoming Well Retreat in Kill Devil Hills, NC.
While the name of the city is coincidental, the founder, Pastor Nina Anderson, says authentic spiritual victories over the enemy is exactly what sets her retreat apart. The intimacy of the experience ensures no woman is overlooked.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE
Every attendee walks away with a victorious testimony: miraculous healings, restored marriages, the birthing of new businesses, prophetic activation, and for some it's as simple as experiencing a supernatural rest in God that has evaded them for decades.
WOMEN ATTEND FROM AROUND THE WORLD
It's no wonder women pour in from the four corners of the earth: Switzerland, Africa, India, Haiti, and even Turkey is represented. But Anderson says the multi-cultural make-up isn't by chance. She adopted this philosophy from her pastors.
Anderson has been a part of New Life Church in Virginia Beach for the past ten years, a multi-site, multi-ethnic missional church that was started by Regent University alumni Dr. Dan Backens and Kevin Turpin.
Backens is Caucasian, and Turpin is African-American. They met in grad school at Regent University and started their ministry together based on : “My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
"We are intentional about diversity. Our attendees come from all walks of life, so the leadership at our events reflect that. Arab women, Spanish women, Asian women, African-Americans, and Caucasians are all represented on our team and among our speakers," she explained.
“Discussion panelists on Mental Health, Well Retreat 2019"
"We endeavor to make this retreat affordable for every socio-economic demographic," Anderson added.
But whether you're hailing from a small village or a bustling city, this retreat is far from roughing it. The women are hosted in beach-side mansions that sleep up to 50 people. Every home is fully outfitted with 24 bedrooms - each with their own bathrooms. And if that's not grandiose enough, the houses also come with theater rooms, game rooms, Jacuzzis, saunas, in-ground pools, at least six to eight master suites, and a team of hosts hand-picked by Pastor Anderson which includes a chef and prophetic intercessors.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Attendees are given the option to stay up to five days where they have access to some of the world's most anointed Christian leaders representing every field from the pulpit to the boardroom.
For women attending March 19-22, their time will be focused on worship, prophetic activation, and recreational recreational activities like painting, shopping, and complimentary facials or massages. Every year is a different experience.
Women interested in the summit arrive on March 17 and can choose from one of four tracks: business, ministry/missions, spiritual restoration and sabbath rest.
Anderson says her goal is to create a conducive environment for women to steal away with God because it is in the "secret place," He can download strategies, creative ideas, reveal mysteries, or communicate his love to his precious daughters.
And she knows all too well how intimacy with God can be transformative. Anderson shared that at her lowest point, Christ met her on her knees and through the power of prayer, she was emotionally restored and radically saved over twenty-seven years ago.
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
An orphan turned promiscuous teenager, by the age of 20 Anderson had two kids and was on a fast track to nowhere -- until the day Christ met her at a prayer meeting and changed the trajectory of her life.
"I had an encounter at prayer one day that totally changed my life. It was so much my eyes were running, my nose was running. I was trembling and I knew it was the presence of God," she explained. "I walked away saying. 'He's the lover of my soul.'If I never have a mate, that's fine with me because God was the lover of my soul. It was that kind of encounter. It transformed me."
"I knew nothing about church up until that point, but the ministry that I ended up being a part of was very focused on intercession, and prayer, and encountering God," Anderson continued. He built a bridge and made it easy to understand that encountering God leads to transformation and that prayer is not one-way but a dialogue with God. Because prayer is a dialogue with God, when we get in his presence and we ask Him things -- He responds. Those responses are what began a transformation in my heart."
THE BIRTHING OF THE RETREAT
In 2016 God began talking to Anderson about creating a prayer ministry rooted in women having a tangible encounter with Him.
By this time, she had completed her master's in theology, served both as a campus chaplain and a coach at her alma mater Regent University, and was a part of the leadership team as an assistant pastor with New Life Church in Virginia Beach, a church that she claims functions as a house of prayer.
"The church was hosting about 19 prayer meetings per week. A lot of our prayer up until that point involved us praying for one another, for the nations, or for the services. And all those meetings were powerful, but the Lord started telling me that some of those women needed to encounter Him for transformation the way that I encountered him for transformation," she explained.
"He said I need you to set up an environment where they can come in without restraints, they can come in and eat, or layout before me, or come in with their journals and just have dialogue and discussion with me. A place where they don't have to worry about anything apart from sitting at the Father's feet."
With the blessing of her senior pastor Dr. Dan Backens, who had been encouraging her to mentor women in prayer, she forged ahead, and The Well was birthed.
A WELL EXPERIENCE
God gave her the blueprint and within months she began planning. Much like the Samaritan woman in John 4, the women who attend the Well Retreat have their own "well experiences" with Jesus.
"I call it a well experience because the Samaritan woman had dialogue with Jesus. He was such a gentleman that he didn't just come up on her like "woman you need me." But he allowed her to express who she thought she was, and then he told her who she really was and what she needed."
Many pastors draw from that text to teach the power of forgiveness and transformation, but at Anderson's retreat the women go beyond learning about what is possible. They have their own dialogue with Christ and experience the same unfettering that lost the infamous Samaritan.
"God shows up every year, and our attendees encounter God, and they get the living water, and they take, and they pour out to those who they have influence with and say, 'let me tell you about a man.'"
WHY WOMEN KEEP COMING BACK
The overflow that permanently and instantaneously changes families, marriages, children, ministries, businesses, and communities is one of the reasons most of the women return every year.
They carry the glory back to their respective communities and have watched God perform miracles in a matter of days and months in areas that they've been praying about for years.
"Last year, I had been desiring the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it was a blessing for me to experience this in the retreat. I had been feeling tired, even with ministry, I came out strengthened and on a higher level. One of the speakers spoke on self-sabotage. I was blessed when I did an evaluation on myself and realized how that had affected me in a big way. Today I am free, I bless the Lord," Pastor Joyce Weru, Kenya, Africa.
Weru’s encounter was so substantial that she decided to bring 30 women from Africa with her this year.
Monica Boucher is a part of the Well ministry team and will be flying in from Alabama. This is her 3rd year.
"Prior to my first retreat experience, I was in ministry with my husband as family pastors, and I felt disconnected from the Body. After the retreat, I have never felt disconnected again. I now feel empowered to fulfill my personal calling as a mentor."
"Once you attend the retreat, you know you are not alone. Being plugged into The Well sustains you, as you are a part of and connected to God's Kingdom provision for prayer, fellowship, and His Word."
Learn how you can attend this year's WELL SUMMIT AND RETREAT.
