Soul Shepherding’s Institute is tailored to pastors, ministry leaders, missionaries, lay leaders and men and women serving the Lord in ministry. These Institute retreats will deepen your intimacy with Jesus and overflow in positive ways into all of your ministry work and relationships.

New cohorts begin one to three times a year. Here you will find information on current and upcoming cohorts, we typically have fall/spring cohorts and winter/summer cohorts.

Cohorts generally average about 35 participants for each retreat. Participants have come from all over the world including 15 states and 11 countries (UK, Mexico, Africa, Philippines, Indonesia, Canada, Columbia, China, New Zealand and more).

Drs. Bill and Kristi Gaultiere (therapists, pastors, and spiritual directors) developed the Institute retreats, spiritual direction certificate, and coaching certificate programs and content to integrate Jesus-centered psychology and spiritual formation. They were personally mentored by Dallas and Jane Willard for a number of years and their teachings are throughout. The retreats are five days long, rather than three days, to facilitate an immersion in God’s loving presence with an authentic community of fellow leaders. The Soul Shepherding approach emphasizes intimacy with Jesus, empathy, authenticity, and leading others out of the overflow of God’s grace in your own life.

We begin at noon on Monday and wrap up by 12:30 pm on Friday. Each day begins with breakfast, followed by teaching, group training and small group breakouts (men and women).  Afternoons are spent in what we call TLC time (To Love Christ). This time is set aside for quiet reflection in nature, scripture meditation, recreation or a nap! You will also receive personalized care and coaching in a small group. After dinner is a time for community that includes question and answer (what we call “squeeze the sponge”), brief teaching, guided spiritual experiences, and sharing with a small group or partner. And there is plenty of free time to connect with other fellow retreat participants.

For each retreat you will receive a free PDF notebook that includes introductions and outlines for each session, space for note-taking, Bible studies, guided spiritual experiences. At the retreat you can purchase a printed notebook for $25 (covers our printing costs).

You can do the four retreats in any order. Doing them in order with the same cohort has extra benefits.

For current pricing see the Institute retreats page.

The Institute retreats are subsidized by donations. Additionally, Soul Shepherding can offer partial scholarships for pastors or missionaries who are unable to pay the full tuition. These are provided on a case-by-case basis. If you are in need of financial assistance, please contact Mark@soulshepherding.org.

Your first step is to complete the application and provide one reference. Have the person providing your reference use this link: Reference Form.  After we review your application and reference, you will receive an email notification from Soul Shepherding regarding your acceptance status. If you are accepted, you will be required to make a $250 deposit to secure your spot.