by Barbara Rolen, Program Director
For the first time ever, we are offering a TPM 101 Immersive — a 24-hour getaway experience designed for intentional spiritual work and encounter with the…
by Dr. Emi Barresi, Board Member
The 2026 staff and board retreat was a resounding success. Set in the beautiful and blessed atmosphere of Serenity itself, I gathered with the leaders and contrib…
For the first time ever, we are offering a TPM 101 Immersive — a 24-hour getaway experience designed for intentional spiritual work and encounter with the Lord.
Last month, we launched our first TPM 201 Immersive—and something beautiful happened. Participants shared how powerful it was to step away from everyday life and give God their full attention. We were reminded that growth requires intention. Every new season with the Lord invites us deeper, and depth rarely happens accidentally.
Here is what the TPM 201 Immersive students had to say about their experience:
“The most impactful time is watching the Holy Spirit breakthrough in someone’s life and give them a new truth.”
“The role plays and the live demonstration minimized the mountain I had made of TPM.”
“Seeing the building block of the Lord in each session to lead to my final session that brought such truth and transformation!”
What Is Transformation Prayer Ministry?
Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM) is a Christ-centered structured prayer process that helps you cooperate with God as He refines your faith and transforms your life by renewing your mind with His truth.
It is not about someone giving advice or fixing you.
It is about slowing down enough to allow the Holy Spirit to persuade you of His perspective —so that His truth becomes your lived, experiential reality.
TPM creates space for God to do what only He can do.
And doing this in a focused, immersive setting allows that work to go deeper.
Nestled on our peaceful 26-acre property in Bellville, Texas, TPM 101 Immersive is where learning becomes encounter.
Over the course of 24 hours, you will have the opportunity to learn about the principles, purpose, and process of Transformation Prayer Ministry AND experience it in prayer sessions. Between sessions, you’ll enjoy walking the property, have quiet reflections, and nourishing meals. The rhythm of the weekend is designed to hold both depth and space.
Friday:
Saturday:
4:00 PM Check-in
8:00 AM Breakfast
5:00 PM TPM 101, Part 1
9:00 AM TPM 101, Part 2
6:15 PM Dinner
10:30 AM Group A: Individual prayer sessions/Group B: Reflection time
7:30 PM Small group practice session
12:00 PM Lunch
1:30 PM Group B: Individual prayer sessions/Group A: Reflection time
3:00 PM. TPM 101, Part 3
4:00 PM: Departure
What Makes This Experience Uniquely Formational
Following teaching that grounds you in the process, the cohort divides into small groups where you practice what you’re learning and debrief in real time. On Saturday, after more interactive teaching, each participant experiences TPM in a private prayer session with two prayer ministers
What emerges is a sacred rhythm of receiving, observing, celebrating, and honoring what God is doing in you and among you. It is deeply personal—and beautifully communal.
By the end of our time together, TPM won’t just be something you’ve learned about. It will be something you’ve experienced with the Lord.
Is This for You?
There is something different about stepping away for 24 hours. When you remove the distractions of everyday life, your heart has room to surface what it’s been carrying. You begin to notice what God may have been inviting you into all along.
This experience is for those who:
Desire to deepen their walk with the Lord
Want to experience TPM firsthand in a safe setting with experienced prayer ministers
Long for a short but meaningful getaway with God
Want to connect with like-minded believers who are pursuing growth
This is intentional space. Intentional prayer. Intentional spiritual work.
And yes — it may surprise you what the Lord does in just 24 hours.
Limited Space. Intentional Community.
This immersive is intentionally small—only 12 spots available. It will be first come, first served. We want this to feel personal. Attentive. Spacious.
We truly believe the Lord will draw the right people into this space.
Regular Rate
Limited-Time Rate*
Single Occupancy
$356
$320
Double Occupancy
$303 (per person)
$273 (per person)
Is This Your Next Step?
If you’re feeling the nudge of the Lord to step away for 24 hours…
If you’ve been curious about TPM…
If you sense it’s time to go deeper…
We would love for you to join us.
And if there is a friend who needs this too—link arms, register together, and join us this month.
TPM 101 Immersive | March 20–21, 2026 | Bellville, Texas
The 2026 staff and board retreat was a resounding success. Set in the beautiful and blessed atmosphere of Serenity itself, I gathered with the leaders and contributors of the Serenity Retreat mission to collaborate, strengthen relationships, and cast vision for the important work ahead. I left inspired and anchored in my calling to steward the next steps of this ministry.
One of the most memorable moments of the weekend was the retreat’s opening setting. As board members, we took a stroll along the prayer trail to pray over the retreat’s intentions. New board member Debra Hill led an impromptu, Spirit-led time of worship along the trail, and the presence of Christ during our walk was palpable. Together, we gave glory to the finished work of Christ and calibrated our hearts to hear His guidance, direction, and wisdom. Later, the new board members broke bread under the newly installed lights at the Serenity pavilion, sharing our unique callings and the testimonies that led each of us to unite here for such a time as this.
Skip Koshak, Dr. Emi Barresi, Debra Hill, Cynthia Wenz, Robert Zimmerman
Staff and board members then came together, aligned and ready to dive into a shared vision for strengthening the ministry’s foundation of TPM, exploring opportunities for enhancement, and considering transformative developments for the future. It was clear to me that the staff had spent much time in prayer, focusing on sustainability and expansion as they prepare to serve the community with intention while building upon 25 years of impactful ministry. The staff presentations were inspiring, blending the wisdom of long-tenured leadership with fresh ideas and perspectives. Each participant reflected on where they see their contribution and service within the organization and how the Lord is guiding their efforts.
Cynthia Wenz, Serenity’s Interim CEO and Board Secretary, served as a unifying presence throughout the retreat. She cultivated an environment where staff and board members could connect deeply and steward the time with reverence for the Lord, open hearts and attentive ears, and a shared commitment to building relationships that will shape the road ahead.
Hospitality was on full display thanks to Tiffany Pardue and new staff member Katie Sohacki, who works remotely and traveled in to be present with us during the event. Their thoughtful care included a beautiful lunch served in the barn, an intimate and welcoming space brought to life through their creativity and attention to detail. Each meal and moment was intentionally prepared, creating an atmosphere that felt like fertile soil where meaningful conversations and collaboration could naturally flourish.
Board members shared their reflections on the experience. Debra noted, “This was my first Serenity Board Meeting. I enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to being part of this ministry, and I hope to help make Serenity Retreat known to churches and communities so that more people can be transformed.”
New board member and longtime volunteer Skip Koshak described the event as “an opportunity to partner with Papa as He transforms and liberates people,” adding, “We have a phenomenal team and one message with many voices.”
As I reflected on the retreat, I left deeply inspired, with a renewed desire to contribute to a mission that has personally impacted my life. I understood why and how the Lord called me to help build a sustainable future for others who deeply need His truth. Vision is seeing what is not yet there, and the staff and current board worked diligently to articulate the vision in a way that brought clarity, allowing us to truly see the path ahead and understand how I can serve alongside this ordained team.
Staff members were moved as well. Angela Miller, Program Manager, shared, “The Board and Staff Retreat was a unifying and encouraging time for our team at Serenity Retreat. It was beautiful to put faces to the specific board roles that serve this ministry, but even more meaningful to hear our board and staff’s heart for the ministry and their desire to see it thrive. The unity around the table and the opportunity for all of us to learn from one another was truly a gift!” Barbara Rolen, Program Director, added, “The entire staff is hopeful and expectant for the fruit ahead in 2026 as the board and staff continue to collaborate.”
There is still much work ahead to equip more prayer ministers and bring many of these ideas to fruition, and this gathering set the stage for every contributor to make an impact in the days, weeks, and ultimately the year ahead. As the future comes into clearer focus, with the expansion of the board and called leaders and stewards in place, the next 25 years of community impact and freeing truth are well positioned to flourish, an alignment that could only have been orchestrated by the Lord.
Massacres, wars, civil wars, imminent wars. The release of files implicating world and pop culture leaders. More prominent Christian leaders exposed in sin and betrayal. The polarity surrounding immigration, ICE, Israel, Iran. Unending reports of sex trafficking, gross perversions, murders. The double-talk and lack of justice — especially for children.
And beneath the headlines: the traumas, griefs, heartaches, and uncertainties of my own life. The same true for those for whom I care, and those we serve at Serenity Retreat. Likely also for you?
As I journaled my wrestles to the Lord this week, I found myself repenting — not for caring, and not for being informed, but for overconsumption. For receiving and attempting to sift truth from a dozen voices before first being still with Him. For allowing the volume of information to reduce my ability to hear what He has to say.
I committed again to bring my thoughts and questions first to Him before diving deeper or processing with others. To remember that discernment is born not from endless input, but from intimacy.
In those moments of turning, something unexpected surfaced. The first line of the Serenity Prayer.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
So I looked up the prayer and read it in its entirety. Tears.
At the bottom of the page was the author’s name, Reinhold Niebuhr. The year: 1926.
One hundred years ago.
What a decade. What a century.
Curious, I read about him and returned to the 1920s. He penned his prayer in a time described as “an age of extreme contradiction.” Unmatched prosperity and cultural advancement existed alongside intense social unrest and reaction. A decade marked by women’s suffrage and the Great Depression, that bore urbanism and modernism, as well as the Ku Klux Klan, Prohibition, nativism, and religious fundamentalism.
Extreme contradiction. Cultural advancement alongside deep corruption. Religious fervor alongside profound moral compromise.
It all feels sadly familiar.
Notable reports — and notable silences — from mainstream and alternative news sources regarding everything from global trafficking rings to local and international conflicts. Notable reports — and notable silences — from church leaders, ministries, denominational heads, and influencers regarding perversions within the Church. Notable reports — and notable silences — from governments at every level.
Everyone seems to be pursuing a moral or religious high ground. Whether the issue is familial, political, scandal, or cultural upheaval, conviction is loud. Humility is rare.
Many of us are in-our-bones tired.
Rocked from the last bombs. Weary of sorting truth from manipulation. Grieving what has been lost or defiled. Watching love grow cold. Wishing those in authority would do more. Considering what more we could have done or can do. Angry as deception, lethargy, evil and injustice persist.
Lord, have mercy.
The full Serenity Prayer goes beyond its familiar opening. It speaks of living one day at a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Identifying with Jesus. Trusting that God will make all things right if we surrender to His will. Then it speaks of happiness — reasonable and supreme, forever.
Just, yes. Amen. Such a simple, infinitely profound prayer. What I think I appreciate most about returning to it and digging a little deeper now is understanding that this prayer was forged in turbulence.
Serenity, then, is not denial, disengagement, or indifference.
Serenity is ordered trust.
It is the refusal to let darkness dictate the condition of our inner world. It’s the courage to act where God assigns responsibility, and the humility to release what He has not. It’s heavenly wisdom formed not by acquiring knowledge, but received by sitting-walking-standing with Him.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10
This psalm wasn’t written in a holy vacuum. In it, the nations are raging, and kingdoms, tottering. Stillness, then, is not escapism. It’s allegiance, choosing where to anchor when the earth shakes.
And that is where I find myself in this season, anchored at Serenity — serving, learning, and healing every day. To retreat is not escape from reality, it’s returning to Truth. It’s receiving when the enemy is doing its most to take. It’s a military strategy, but I’ll save that for another time.
The world in 1926 needed this prayer, and we need it now. To mark its centennial, how about reading the Serenity Prayer aloud:
The Full Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1926)
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Now will you join me in practicing it?
To limit our intake. To guard our inner lives. To endure hardship and expect happiness. To confess where we have partnered with fear. To acknowledge our thoughts and take them to the Lord. Our feelings, too — TPM is amazing for that. To take courage and act as He speaks. To accept where He asks for surrender. To trust that justice ultimately rests in His hands.
We are living in an age of extremes, also an age of salvation. Perhaps the most courageous thing is to respond and say “yes”. Yes to His leadership. His limits. His wisdom. His peace. His way.
We cannot quiet the nations, news, or naysayers, but we can quiet our souls.
And we can be happy.
Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever —Psalm 146:5-6
For help with unrest, frustration, or pain, we invite you to take time away at Serenity Retreat in Bellville, and/or a cost-free hour at a time in Transformation Prayer Ministry. Click here to schedule a session or retreat today.Be blessed!
Jesus-loving Ladies of 2026 looking like the 1920s — celebrating the 4th Anniversary of The Gathery in Bellville, Texas.
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 insight after our first TPM 201 Immersive in Bellville, it reminded me of the way we humans many times approach new experiences, me included. We build up these mountains in our minds—mountains of complexity, mountains of fear, mountains of “I could never do that”—and then the Holy Spirit gently shows us that what looked insurmountable was actually an invitation to step forward.
On Jan 29 – 31, 2026 (with several of us lingering through Sunday morning), we gathered in Bellville for something that was just an idea from the Lord last fall: a condensed, intensive format for TPM 201 that would allow people to grow in their understanding of TPM and have multiple encounters with the Lord in practice sessions, without the challenge of sustaining momentum across six weekly classes. What unfolded was a community of believers sharing life together: lots of laughter and tears as we witnessed and experienced encounters with the Lord leading to transformation again and again.
But the journey didn’t begin when we arrived Thursday evening. It started weeks earlier, when participants began their pre-coursework…
Part One: Laying the Foundation—Weeks of Intentional Preparation
The journey to Bellville didn’t begin with packing bags or making travel arrangements. It began weeks earlier, when each participant received access to their pre-coursework—a carefully designed progression through seven modules that would prepare their hearts and minds for the intensive weekend ahead.
Over those weeks, participants were reading key chapters from The Principles, Purpose, and Process by Ed Smith and Joshua Smith, watching key teaching videos, and engaging with the content through Discovery Guides. They were learning the core TPM principles—we perceive what we believe, we feel what we believe, we do what we believe, we believe what we are persuaded to believe—and beginning to recognize patterns in their own lives. We also asked each person to complete three TPM sessions before arriving, giving them hands-on experience with the process they’d be learning to use.
Some engaged deeply with the pre-work, joining us for our three Zoom check-ins to discuss what they were learning and to experience the prayer process of TPM. Others did what they could, showing up with just enough foundation to begin. And that was okay—because what we discovered is that the immersive format has room for people to enter at different levels of preparation.
The pre-work served its purpose: everyone arrived with at least a basic shared vocabulary and some personal experience of TPM. But the real breakthroughs? Those would come during our time together, when teaching met practice, when understanding became experience, and when the Holy Spirit showed up in ways none of us could orchestrate.
Part Two: Three Days of Deep Transformation
Thursday: Setting the Atmosphere
We gathered around the table over a charcuterie dinner while sharing what brought us to this immersive experience. The honesty in the room was palpable—some eager, some nervous, all expectant. The discussion continued as we dove into the first component of the Purpose of TPM: faith-refinement.
After a brief orientation, focusing specifically on the Emotion Box, where every TPM session begins, everyone enjoyed a live demonstration. Watching someone demonstrate self-TPM made it feel… possible. Approachable. Real.
Angela Miller, one of our coaches, later reflected: “The TPM 201 Immersive reminded me how powerful it is when people gather together in-person, sharing meals, engaging in meaningful conversation, and learning about a prayer process that has lasting effects on our spiritual life. We create space to go deeper into our own stories while also bearing witness to what God is doing in the lives of others.”
Friday: The Rhythm of Breakthrough
Each workshop began with a playful or meaningful warm-up exercise designed to focus on an aspect of TPM. The first workshop of the day was focused on the Memory Box and Belief Box, exploring why it matters where our beliefs are stored (head versus heart) and how the Holy Spirit works to renew our minds.
The teaching sessions weren’t just lectures. We broke into small groups with coaches for role plays, working through scenarios like “Sarah’s Stressful Situation” and “Angie’s Anger.” These weren’t theoretical exercises—they were practice runs for the real sessions happening between workshops.
One participant captured it perfectly: “I loved the community that formed in the 36 hours we were together. I love how knowing the Lord and knowing others know the Lord gives us a strong kinship. I loved that people were serious about learning TPM and their hearts were really engaged in it.”
By Friday afternoon, we were tackling the Anger Box—learning to recognize anger in all its disguises and understanding that our anger always is fueled by a belief underneath. Friday evening brought us face-to-face with Solution Indicators—those protective behaviors we’ve developed to avoid pain, the ones that feel so right but keep us stuck.
And between every workshop? Practice sessions. Real prayer ministry. Real breakthroughs.
“I had a great prayer session when one of the participants prayed for me,” one attendee shared. “The most impactful time is watching the Holy Spirit breakthrough in someone’s life and givethem a new truth.”
Saturday: Integration and Transformation
Saturday morning we explored the Solution Box more deeply. This is where many participants had their biggest “aha” moments. One person wrote in her survey: “I realized I have spent my life in the solution box, thinking it was a good answer, thinking these behaviors were the right and logical truths. And my mind has been renewed. My beliefs are not correct, God’s truth is the right solution. I’m on a new path now in my thinking and how I perceive and believe. It feels like freedom and I actually felt lighter and dizzy, something left.”
Another shared: “I’ve spent most of my life thinking I am alone and isolated, and in my TPM session I realized that was a self-protection tool, and that I can depend on God in those places around me and feel safe and loved and cared for.”
Carol Schwartz, another coach, observed: “Being part of TPM 201 team was such a gift. The immersive setting gave us the chance to really slow down and walk with people as they practiced, asked questions, and grew in confidence. It was powerful to watch the material click in real time and to see the personal growth happening right alongside their hands-on learning.”
Saturday afternoon brought us full circle with a “Coaches Panel”—a time for participants to ask any lingering questions. Then came our closing ceremony: the Transformation Commemoration. Each person wrote on a river rock one lie they’d believed when they arrived—something Jesus had replaced with truth over these three days. One by one, they threw their rocks into the water, releasing what God had set them free from. Then they received cards to write down the truth God had given them in place of the lie or anything else the Lord wanted them to walk away with. It was a genuine celebration of what we’d witnessed God do.
A few of us lingered into Sunday for additional fellowship and reflection time. There’s something sacred about those unhurried morning hours after an intensive experience—time to let it all settle.
Part Three: What We’re Learning About This Format
The survey responses are still coming in, but certain themes are already clear:
The immersive format works differently than weekly classes. The concentrated time, the meals together, the ability to have multiple practice sessions in a short span—it accelerates both learning and transformation. Angela, who helped facilitate this intensive, put it simply: “I genuinely love this model and cannot recommend an immersive highly enough. Even if you have participated in a six- or eight-week training, there is something uniquely rich about the immersive experience that is well worth stepping into.”
Role plays and demonstrations demystify the process. That participant who felt the mountain become a molehill? She wasn’t alone. Watching real demonstrations and doing hands-on practice made TPM feel accessible rather than overwhelming.
Community matters. Being together in person, sharing meals, laughing over icebreakers, witnessing each other’s breakthroughs—it creates bonds that go beyond typical classroom learning.
The Lord shows up. One participant noted simply: “Still digesting everything, the skits, the workshop discussions were fantastic.” But beneath that digest-time is the reality that minds were renewed, lies were replaced with truth, and people encountered Jesus in tangible ways.
Part Four: Your Invitation
We’re offering more TPM 201 Immersive opportunities in 2026, and after experiencing this first one, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Whether you’ve never taken TPM training before, or you completed a weekly format years ago and want to go deeper, this condensed format offers something special.
You’ll arrive with some pre-work under your belt. You’ll spend three days learning principles, practicing skills, and experiencing personal ministry. You’ll leave with new tools, new freedom, and new friends who’ve walked this journey with you.
And maybe, like our participants, you’ll discover that the mountain you imagined was really just an invitation to step forward and watch what God can do.
If you’re interested in a future TPM 201 Immersive, reach out to us at Serenity Retreat [email protected]. We’d love to have you join us for the next one!
I still remember the first time I encountered Serenity Retreat. It wasn’t at a gala or a board meeting. It was at a memorial service, a sacred gathering for mothers like me who had experienced the deep grief of abortion.
I had just completed my very first post-abortion healing class, and Serenity was still in its infancy, meeting in an Upper Room in Garden Oaks. I can still see Kathryn Eason, our gracious host, leading us as we gathered to grieve, to pray, and to lay down the burden that had weighed on our hearts for so long. That day I wept freely.
Tears seemed to ring through my heart like a bell. It was a holy sound, the sound of grief colliding with hope, the sound of a heart breaking open so healing could begin.
That healing became a turning point in my life. Soon after, my simple volunteer role at a local pregnancy center became a full calling. I found myself stepping into the CEO role at a pregnancy center just 10.4 miles away from the massive 78,000 square foot Planned Parenthood facility that was being built—the largest in the western hemisphere at the time.
As that building rose, my heart rose in response. World Magazine even featured my reflections in an article called Taking on Goliath. That season was my personal battle with Goliath. But like David, my weapon wasn’t a sword, it was prayer. My heart’s cry to the Lord became my sling and stone.
We served women and families with the hope of life in Christ. We educated. We prayed. We adjusted our business hours to match the rhythms of the abortion industry. And behind every act of service was a tear-stained prayer that Goliath would fall.
And now, 15 years later, that Goliath has fallen.
The massive facility that once cast its shadow over our city is finally closing its doors. Even still, I’ve learned through the years that while laws can change, doors can close, and buildings can be torn down, there yet remains the battle for hearts.
Now in my service as Interim CEO of Serenity Retreat, I can see clearly why the Lord has brought me back to this sacred space. Because breakthrough has a sound—and that sound is incepted in the prayers of God’s people.
The Serenity Retreat property is a tranquil and holy plot of land, situated close to the city, yet with such a (beautifully) distant atmosphere. In this space, God’s kingdom meets earth. Its grounds are much what I envision when praying the Lord’s Prayer, ‘thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Between the serene landscape, delightful food, and genuinely hospitable servants of Christ, who were a profound blessing on my healing retreat, 24 hours left me with the location’s namesake… serenity.
Initially, I heard about TPM when seeking deliverance on my journey to healing from a life marred by the weight and hurt of sin, both my own and that which was a shadow over my early life. I had not previously heard of TPM until I came to the foot of the cross, crumbling, looking on the internet for a ministry that could reach my soul more deeply than I had ever needed to go before. Christ has already healed and delivered me from so much in the years I’ve spent following Him, sometimes in just a touch. But my heart still had straggling weeds of anxiety, discontentment, and frustration, leaving heavy rocks on days I desperately wanted peace.
During my prayer sessions, I set down the shields of lies related to a performance-based perspective of measuring myself, and exchanged those rocks in the pit of my heart for peace and the shimmer of Christ in me. The new sheen was guided by prayer ministers who led me through the process with gentle care, and His presence in those moments was palpable.
I rang the bell because of that moment, where I could set down the weight of the false armor, hand it over to the Lord of all, and cry at His feet in gratitude for His beauty. Even after years of tearing down the walls of lies I had amassed from a worldly life lived far from Him, there was residue deep within that needed to be yanked from the bitter root. I could not be more grateful for and inspired by this place, for the people who lit the hours with their souls in conversation and gracious love.
Serenity Retreat helped restore parts of my soul, providing an inner ambience of joy and a glimpse of paradise. Where else can you feel in just 24 hours as if you’d walked in the glory of Eden for years? I’m not sure, but this is one of those places.
When you step into peace, freely given in exchange for our sorrow, anxiety, and earthly wounds, you can be reminded that it is by grace and His blood alone that such deeply transformative experiences with our creator exist. Through prayer, through communion 1:1 with the Lord, through contact with His beauty in the greenery and still waters of His creation, and the fellowship with those we will one day call sisters and brothers in the majesty of eternity, we find spiritual nourishment and connection.
For now, until that eternity is at my hands (by His sacrifice!), I know I can find serenity right here.
And so I rang the bell, a symbolic act of surrender and gratitude. It was my way of acknowledging the healing and transformation I had experienced, as well as my commitment to continue on this spiritual journey in relationship with my Savior.
