A place to meet, enjoy, get inspired and building your faith.
Join us for an unforgettable experience at Europartners Retreat and Getaway from 12th to 15th October 2023!
This year, we are delighted to invite you to the breath-taking Algarve region at the luxurious Ria Park Hotel & Spa. This retreat offers a welcoming and supportive environment to connect, rejuvenate, and inspire your faith.
With inspiring talks from Ian Smith and Eddie Lyle, heart-touching worship with Pete James, silent and personal time to pray, and walks in nature, you’ll have ample opportunity to learn, grow and connect with like-minded business leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals.
Relax, recharge, and gain fresh perspectives in a beautiful and tranquil setting. Whether you’re seeking inspiration, recovery, or simply a break from daily stresses, this retreat is the perfect backdrop for your personal transformation. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with yourself, others, and with God.
PS: Take your life-partner with you and make it an investment for your living together, too.
What will be your takeaway?
Through stimulating conversations, inspiring and challenging talks, personal reflection, and prayer you should be able to discover and understand God’s voice for your life and/or work. It will help you to find direction and make your plans for the coming year. It will be a refreshing experience to get recharged and refocussed on that what matters in life.
Living with reality
This stirring title is the entry to our retreat time together as leaders from around Europe. Whichever country we live in, each of us have our joys, our challenges, and our hard times.
How can we remain truly aligned to walk and stand strong in uncertain and volatile times? How can we be leaders who live faithful to God, clear in our personal and business values, authentic to our true selves? What are our guiding principles and how do they anchor us so that we run true to our faith?
To help us resolve and answer these questions we will be digging deep into Psalm 23, learning more of how the Lord really is our shepherd, our guide, our trusted and true friend. We will hear some practical examples from others who are on this same journey. We will also learn and hear God speak to us in personal reflection, in worship led by our friend Pete James, in walking together in small groups and in small group discussion.
The beautiful setting and scenery of the Algarve is our venue, what better place could we be to step further and deeper into our journey as disciples of our Lord Jesus?
We look forward to welcoming you and to our retreat journey together.
See you there!
Ian Smith, Eddie Lyle
The program
Thursday, 12 October
On arrival day, we will welcome you with an informal reception at 17.00h to meet old and new friends. The program will kick off with an introduction to the theme and retreat, followed by a small group meeting to foster deeper connections.
The day will come to an end with a delightful dinner, followed by some leisure time to socialize with your friends
Friday and Saturday 13 and 14 October
We will start with inspiration, worship, personal time to reflect and seek God.
After the coffee breaks you will have the opportunity to pray and process more in your small group.
After lunch, take personal time, use the one-to-one encounters to dig deeper or take time to unwind by the ocean, spa, or hike.
As the sun sets, we will gather for evening worship, teachings, and inspiration to deepen your spiritual journey.
At Saturday we will have a stunning dinner on the beach, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Sunday 15 October
On Sunday, we will conclude the retreat with a morning session, including worship, inspiration, and a celebratory Lord’s Supper. There will be time for evaluation, prayer, and sharing experiences before departure at noon.
The venue
Enjoy the sun, the pleasant weather and hospitality of the Algarve region in Portugal. We will stay in the five-star Hotel-Spa of Ria Park hotels.
Flying to Portugal
In the Natural Park of Ria Formosa, the hotel is situated just 20 minutes away from Faro International Airport and 700m from the beautiful sandy beaches of Garrao and Ancao, on the south coast of Portugal. The Ria Park Hotel-Spa also offers all kind of Spa facilities and a gym for us as guests, free to use.
At Saturday evening we will have a dinner on the beach to offer you a divine and tasty moment overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Bring your life partner along to this transformative event, stay a little longer and share in this incredible journey and experience.
Retreat Facilitators
Eddie Lyle
The Springbrook Partnership was founded in 2016 by Eddie Lyle, who has over 30 years of experience managing organisations in the charitable sector.
For 16 of these years he held the position of CEO for two separate organisations, managing change and transformation across large and influential teams. He currently has a significant public leadership role with an internationally known and respected charity.
Eddie is a recognised and strategic thinker, team builder, motivational speaker and entrepreneur.
His unique experience and skills have enabled him to become a significant coach, mentor and spiritual director, providing transformative insight, encouragement and wisdom to many.
Ian Smith
Ian is a Director of Springbrook Partnership and is an EMCC Accredited Coach/Mentor at Senior Practitioner level.
With thirty years’ experience as a senior executive with international organisations in the corporate and non-profit sectors, he brings both depth and breadth of experience to the Partnership. His role in the non-profit sector was strongly cross-cultural, establishing operational bases in eleven countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with indigenous leaders.
Ian’s heart is to invest in leaders and to equip the leaders of the future enabling them to be authentic, courageous role models and ambassadors. is a core component, helping them make a difference to organisational health and culture, empowering individuals and teams to flourish and realise their potential.
Pete James
Pete James is a worship leader and writer of songs and stories. He is the creator of The Cheeky Pandas, A Christian, children’s animated TV show and band. He also is a part time Teaching Assistant in a local school helping children with learning difficulties. Pete is a keen surfer, skateboarder and snowboarder and is celebrating 20 years married to Nicola this year. Together they have two daughters.
Springbrook Partnership
Founded in 2016 by Eddie Lyle, Springbrook Partnership is both a ministry and a business partnership.
It has built its professional reputation on helping our clients navigate the storms of transition and
uncertainty at key developmental stages in their careers.
We see our role as a catalyst to support organisations and individuals through major restructure and
seasons of transition.
Costs and registration
Join us for an unforgettable weekend retreat. This is an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate and seek God in the serene surroundings of the Atlantic Ocean. We offer you an all-inclusive experience at the five-star Ria Park Hotel Spa, near the sea, with all their facilities.
If you are (a young professional) living in Central or Eastern Europe and you would like to apply for a scholarship to receive a scholarship for this retreat, you can apply for it via the button below.
Regular Prices
Bookings after the 15th July:
Double room: € 795,- p.p.
Single room: € 995,- p.p.
Your booking is an all-inclusive package that includes access to all of the hotel’s facilities, as well as your room, breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee breaks, and program entrance fees.
All prices are in Euro’s and including VAT.
FAQ
You can best fly in on Faro International Airport, many low costs carriers fly on this airport.
Afterwards you take a taxi to the hotel.
Address:
Ria Park Hotel-Spa
Av. do Garrão, 8125-951 Almancil, Portugal
Just 20 minutes or 18 kilometres away from Faro International Airport, between Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo Resorts, amidst the Ria Formosa Natural Park and close to famous golden sand beaches.
Arrival day Thursday 12 October
The program starts at 17.00h
Departure day Sunday 15 October
The programs end at noon.
If you have a preferred roommate and you know the name already, please fill in the field ‘With whom will you be sharing the room’ in the registration form.
If you would like us to check with whom you can share the room, you can leave the field empty and we will provide a roommate, gender equal and if possible one who is coming from your nation.
If we can not provide a gender equal roommate, you will sleep at your own for the double room rate.
There are scholarships available for young professionals from eastern Europe. See this page and how you can apply
Contact Annelies Luken, info@europartners.org
You can go to the reception desk of Europartners in the hotel or contact Annelies Luken or Wouter Droppers.
Sure, you can.
You can book it yourself at the hotel and can use the following booking code – Europartners Conference – and send it to sales@riaparkhotels.com
Inform them about the extra days you would like to stay and they will help you and ensure you that you do not have to change rooms. Please remind them and check this for your own convenience.