by Barbara Rolen, Program Director at Serenity Retreat
The C.O.R.E. Team—which stands for "Clarification of Refinements"—was established by Kathryn Eason prior to her retirement in 2019…
by Barbara Rolen, Program Director at Serenity Retreat
"The role-plays and the live demonstration minimized the mountain I had made of TPM."
When one member of the cohort shared this ins…
We are grateful to share that Tiffany Pardue has stepped into a new leadership role at Serenity Retreat as our Retreats Director and Community Partnership Liaison. This transition marks a meaningful new season for Serenity Retreat Bellville, and one we are entering with deep gratitude and confidence.
In these past months, as Tiffany has stepped more fully into this role, we have already seen the fruit of her leadership. She has helped maintain, develop, and strengthen the rhythm of retreats and ministry respites on the land, while also collaborating closely with the broader team to imagine what could be next. With creativity and wisdom, Tiffany has brought fresh insight into how our retreats and hospitality team can continue to serve individuals, ministries, and communities with care, depth, and intentionality. We’ve already seen the collaboration in action with our training team in our recent TPM 201 Immersive and how the Lord is positioning Serenity Retreat for the new wine to come!
Tiffany carries both a reverence for what God has already established at Serenity Retreat and a thoughtful openness to innovation, holding the mission steady while helping us grow with clarity and purpose. Her leadership helps ensure that the retreats, gatherings, and trainings hosted in Bellville continue to be places where people can encounter God in safety, truth, and love.
As Serenity Retreat Bellville continues to grow as a place of rest, prayer, and restoration, this role helps cultivate an atmosphere where Transformation Prayer Ministry can flourish and where individuals and groups can step away from the noise to listen, heal, and be renewed in God’s presence. The land in Bellville remains a place set apart, a place to come away, to be still, and to receive.
As Scripture reminds us: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)
If you are sensing an invitation to step away for rest, prayer, or healing, we would be honored to host you at Serenity Retreat Bellville. To inquire about a personal retreat, group retreat, or ministry respite, please email [email protected] or fill out our Retreat Information Request Form.
We are deeply thankful for the way God is assembling leaders for this next season at Serenity Retreat. Please join us in welcoming Tiffany and praying for her as she continues to serve with humility, wisdom, and a heart fully yielded to the work God is doing here.
One of the greatest gifts of a healthy ministry is the people God brings to steward it. Board members play a vital role in the life and ministry of Serenity Retreat. They pray with us, help guide and shape vision, provide accountability, and lend wisdom so that our mission remains strong, focused, and faithful.
A board isn’t about control, it’s about care. At Serenity Retreat, governance is committed to seeking and listening to the Lord together, and ensuring that the ministry continues to be a place of encounter, healing, restoration, and transformation for generations to come.
With great joy, we welcome three new members to the Serenity Retreat Board.
Skip Koshak brings a wealth of business insight and steady leadership to Serenity where he has volunteered as a TPM® mentor for the past 2 years! Skip has a long history of serving organizations with integrity, operational excellence, and a genuine heart for people. With a reputation as a wise counselor and stabilizing presence, we are grateful for the experience and discernment he brings to our board.
Dr. Emi Barresi is a transformational leader with a deep background in organizational development, spiritual formation, and human flourishing. Emi carries both professional expertise and a pastoral heart. She has a unique gift for helping people and teams step into greater wholeness, and her voice will meaningfully strengthen our vision and future.
Reverend Debra Hill is a seasoned minister, counselor, worship and community leader with decades of faithful service to individuals and families. She brings spiritual depth, compassion, and pastoral wisdom that aligns beautifully with Serenity Retreat’s mission of healing and renewal.
It is a gift to welcome leaders who love God, love people, and are committed to stewarding this ministry with humility and faith. I am deeply grateful for each of them and excited for what lies ahead as we continue walking together in obedience to God’s calling.
Please join me in welcoming Skip, Dr. Emi, and Reverend Debra to the Serenity Retreat Board of Directors.
If you would like to send a New Year’s message to our team or Board of Directors, we’d love to hear anything you have to share! Email us at [email protected] and we’ll make sure it gets to your intended recipient(s).
by Tiffany Pardue and Barbara Rolen, Retreats and Program Directors
While Christian groups have gathered to experience the Lord at Serenity Retreat Bellville for years, God is doing is something new and exciting with Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM).
Here’s What’s New
This fall, in planning meetings with group retreat leaders, discussions about what it might look like to incorporate TPM sessions increased. Leaders began showing an interest in our prayer ministers providing TPM to their groups—from 10, to 15, even 17 at a time! With our typical Personal Healing Retreat format, that’s just not feasible.
So, we sought the Lord and began to book group retreats that include one TPM session per participant. The response has been extraordinary—Serenity Retreat partnered with church small groups and ministry teams to provide TPM during group retreats is a Kingdom match made in heaven!
The Experiment
Our first group, Dream Makers, had ten participants, seven of whom received prayer. We scheduled two prayer minister teams to serve them, and when illness hit mid-retreat—we didn’t cancel, we pivoted. Four sessions were provided via Zoom to the group gathered at Bellville. Thank God that the Holy Spirit is not constrained by space or screens!
Then came our second group, Restored Wives with 17 ladies. We brought in three all-star prayer minister and intercessor teams to provide TPM to 16 young mommas and wives over the course of 24 hours. You should have seen it!
By the end of the retreat, they stood facing the pond, hands clasped and lifted high in celebration of Jesus and what He had done among them—collectively and in each of their hearts. So much restoration and love.
The Lord has moved in ways we’ve never experienced through these group retreat collaborations. With all our hearts turned to the Lord for wisdom and guidance, 23 women have experienced TPM through this new format, almost all of them for the first time. That’s 23 women who have given the opportunity to have an encounter with the Lord resulting in more freedom and transformation.
Why This Matters
Here’s what we’re discovering: this format makes TPM accessible to groups who might not otherwise experience it.
Let’s say your men or women’s ministry wants to introduce TPM to your leaders, but asking everyone to commit to a full individual retreat isn’t realistic. Maybe your small group has been walking through increasingly difficult circumstances and you know you need to create space for everyone to lean in together—a space where all can gather, and also experience quiet, sacred moments with the Lord, including a TPM session—you’re wondering how you can make this work for a larger group? Or perhaps the Lord is inviting your group of friends or ministry team to go deeper together in Him—and one TPM session per person feels like the perfect starting point.
This new option? It’s opening doors and so many possibilities.
It Takes a Small Army (of Prayer Ministers)
I need to tell you something: this only works because of our prayer ministers’ hearts for this ministry. They want as many people as possible to encounter the Lord and walk in freedom! When we asked prayer ministers to serve these two groups—first two teams for the group of ten, then three teams for the group of 17—many said yes without hesitation. They all agreed it was such a joy to come together and serve so many women at once. Their willingness to serve, their hunger to see people set free, their faithfulness to show up—that’s what makes this kind of multiplication possible.
Is This for Your Group?
If you’ve been thinking about how and when you can bring your ministry team, small group, even family or friends to Bellville, and what it might look like to receive ministry together—this might be exactly what you’re looking for.
We are thrilled to collaborate with you to create a Group Retreat experience tailored to your needs, with or without our new one-session-per-participant option. Email [email protected] to start the conversation and see what the Lord has in store for you and your people in2026!
Grateful for All That God Is Doing
This Thanksgiving, as we think of these 23 women, many whose lives have been deeply impacted and changed, we say THANK YOU.
Thank you to our powerful, big-hearted prayer ministers, and thank you to every person who makes the space, investing time and resources to step out in faith, believing that God will encounter you with His truth. Thank you to all who are praying for Serenity Retreat, supporting this work, or cheering us on—thank you for being part of what God is multiplying here. And thank you, Jesus, for doing what only You can do!
We have so many reasons to be grateful and so many to whom we give our thanks. God has been good to Serenity Retreat this year, and we are excited and expectant to see how He leads us through the holidays and into the new year, together. Happy Thanksgiving, Family!
PRAYER MINISTERS – One prayer minister was so inspired by reading this post that she is ready to sign up to join the TPM explosion happening in Bellville. Anybody else want to join? Don’t let 16 sessions scare you, or even 5 sessions for one team. Prayer teams are not always compiled of the same ministers. Mentors and Intercessors serve as they’re available and then tag the next team.
Contact [email protected] to be added to the “Ready Retreat Team”. When the need arises, you’ll be contacted. If you can serve, great—if not, we’ll call you the next time. Thanks and we hope to hear from you soon!
