Tag: 25 Year Anniversary

Honoring New Leaders As We Welcome the New Year

Written by Tiffany Pardue on December 29, 2025. Posted in Serenity Retreat. No Comments on Honoring New Leaders As We Welcome the New Year

by Cynthia Wenz, Board Member and Interim CEO

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).

Part Two: When Breakthrough Rings in Bellville

Written by Angela Miller on September 16, 2025. Posted in 25 Anniversary - Ring The Bell, Serenity Blog. No Comments on Part Two: When Breakthrough Rings in Bellville

By Cynthia Wenz

Part One: Read Here

Flash forward to today.

I sit in the seat of CEO for the very ministry that once held space for my healing. It’s not lost on me how full-circle God’s faithfulness is.

I’m deeply blessed and inspired to serve alongside a united, prayerful board as Serenity Retreat prepares to celebrate its 25th year—a year of reflection and renewed mission.

Twenty-five years of quiet miracles. Of whispered prayers. Of stewarding sacred ground that has absorbed the tears and testimonies of hundreds who came to meet with and receive from God.

This summer, as heat slowed the rhythm of the city, our board made a strategic move: they asked me to step in as unpaid interim CEO to fill the gap and carry the weight of vision leading up to our 25th Anniversary Fundraiser on October 3rd.

It wasn’t a business decision; it was a spiritual one.

We sensed that this summer wasn’t a pause, it was a preparation.

And so, we, as an organization, have turned first to prayer.

Led by our dear Tiffany Pardue, the Serenity team launched 40 Days of Favor — committing 25 minutes of every morning to lift high the name of Jesus, not only for our ministry, but for hearts across the city, our partners, the Church, and the world.

These moments have become the heartbeat of this season. No production, no polish. Just believers united in one cry: Come, Lord Jesus. Move among us.

From those calls to the quiet trails of Bellville, breakthrough is beginning to take shape again. It’s the kind that’s born from humble hearts and holy ground.

We hear it in worship echoing from the cabins, Lodge and prayer chapel.

We feel it in tears that water the soil beneath our feet.

We see it when someone walks out of a Transformation Prayer Ministry session, ringing the bell — a literal, physical bell — because they’ve encountered freedom, truth, and the nearness of Jesus.

And how fitting that this year, our 25th Anniversary will be held at The Bell Tower on 34th Street — a place where bells echo through stone halls, as if heaven itself were affirming: Breakthrough has a sound.

It’s the sound of prayers whispered in faith.
The sound of truth replacing lies.
The sound of a bell ringing in Bellville, and in hearts ready to be free.

Will You Join the Sound of Breakthrough?

🙏 Pray with us: Join the last 6 Days of our 40 Days of Prayer: Sign-Up for our daily 40 Days of Favor prayer guide here
🎟️ Host or sponsor a table at the 25th Anniversary Fundraiser Celebrations. Whether you’ve attended before or not, your presence and invitation could make room for someone else’s healing: Register to Host or Sponsor a table here
💛 Partner with Serenity Retreat: Through prayer, presence, or financial support, you help us continue to offer sacred spaces of restoration to those who need it most.

Breakthrough is more than a moment.
It’s a movement.
And it’s already begun.

Come ring the bell with us.

RSVP at serenityretreat.com/ringthebell.

A Night to Cherish the Old and Look Forward to the New

Written by Angela Miller on September 13, 2025. Posted in Filling Station, Serenity Blog. No Comments on A Night to Cherish the Old and Look Forward to the New

By Barbara Rolen

It was such a joy to gather in Bellville for the recent Filling Station on September 10. This bi-annual gathering gives us the precious opportunity to unite and remember why we continually say yes to this vital kingdom work. There was something special about gathering on the very land that God gave the ministry years ago. Nancy Zimmerman’s words, “We are on holy ground,” resonated deeply in our hearts.

The significant scripture that anchored our hearts that evening, and continues to guide Serenity Retreat in this season, is Matthew 9:17: “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

As Cynthia Wenz, our volunteer interim CEO, spoke about these new wineskins, you could feel something stirring in the room. There’s something powerful about recognizing when God is preparing us for something fresh—something that requires not just new vision, but new capacity to hold what He’s pouring out. Robert Zimmerman, our board chairman, painted the picture beautifully as he shared how we’re unifying around our central purpose. He also shared his heartfelt conviction that this ministry simply wouldn’t exist without our prayer ministers. Our mission—to provide a safe place for all generations to encounter the Lord and be transformed— can only be realized because of our faithful prayer ministers willing to be on the front line.

Prior to ending the evening, Tiffany Pardue, our Retreat Director, set us up well to move into a time of prayer. It was a beautiful sound to hear small groups of believers all around the room praying over the ministry.

One of the evening’s highlights was listening to the bell ring 25 times, each chime representing one year that God has been ministering to His people at Serenity Retreat. We each took time to individually reflect on this sacred moment. Personally, I was thinking of what an honor it is to walk alongside our prayer ministers who have ushered guests to the feet of Jesus and witnessed transformation before our very eyes thousands of times. It was beautiful to move right into an impactful time of worship outside while the sun was setting. Rob Moorman, our board vice-chair, and Keever Wallace, one of our proficient mentors and leaders in the ministry, led us in such sweet worship beginning with “Holy Ground”.

The weight of our calling felt especially significant the morning after on the 40 Days of Favor prayer call as we paused to pray for our nation and the family of Charlie Kirk after the devastating news of his death. I believe that our mission is more important than ever as we prepare to receive hurting souls who have encountered tragic events or who just can’t seem to make sense of life anymore. Come Holy Spirit and have Your way in our hearts.