FRANCE DETAILS + COSTS

NEW EXPERIENCE: We are launching a new experience that is distinctly different from previous trips we’ve taken to France!

WHAT KIND OF TRIP IS THIS?

If one would ask, “What’s the heart of this trip?” we might answer in the following manner:

Our heart for you personally: our main goal for you is a formational creative workshop that brings you into deeper worship, intimacy, and identity as a child of God. For individuals and families, our goal would be for each to have a “retreat experience” of spiritual formation & healing while also taking part in the Holy Spirit’s missional heart for France & Europe… we desire each to play a part in blessing France and the work of the Gospel there through prayer, worship, creative arts, and building relationally & ministering to the local church there in France.

Our heart as a church: our main goal as a church is a long-term missional relationship in France… to establish a long-term relationship with a missional church community into France & Europe, and to both receive from the local team & their ministry, as well as pour into the work they are forging.

Our heart for others: we have a vision to invite many other creatives from LA, even those not yet following Jesus, to join us in an experience that uses creativity to heal & inspire the heart, while opening the soul to the Way of the one true artisan- Jesus.

THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM EXCHANGE

We believe that each trip we take as a church family brings a beautiful heavenly exchange of grace & power with our friends who are bringing the Kingdom into France! It blows us away how each of us who goes receives SO much healing & refreshing, while seeing our deposit bring SO much encouragement, strength, and momentum to their work!

WHEN: June 25-July1, 2025

WHERE: BETHANIE, NORMANDY, FRANCE

319 La Hanoudière, Heutevent, 14140 Livarot Pays D’Auge, Calvados, France

COST: does NOT include travel (These costs are estimates with exact costs being given by April)

$699/adult
$199/child 5+
$99/childcare fee for those under 5 (we plan to have childcare during sessions available;)
Additional Days at Bethanie:
- $75/day per adult
- $40 per child 5+
- No charge for children under 5

INCLUDES: Lodging, food (2 meals/day), and retreat, creative arts sessions & materials, teaching, as well as trip admin, a small gift for the missions base, and childcare during training sessions. This cost does not include lunches, other meals when traveling, or travel costs of airfare or rental car.

TRAVEL: We ask everyone to book their own travel (we can connect everyone for those that want to travel together & share car rentals, etc). Typically, flying into Paris CDG and renting a car is cheapest/simplest. It’s approximately a 2.5 hour drive from Paris.

Please arrive at Bethanie by evening of Wed, June 25.
The “program” will run Thurs, June 26 through Monday, June 30… check out will be Tuesday morning, July 1..
You are welcome to arrive at Bethanie as early as June 24th, and stay as long as July 2nd. (Additional days for a charge- see above)

APPLICATION/SIGN-UP

PROGRAM: “To enter into a rhythm of prayer & worship, table fellowship, and creativity.”

What to Expect?

Each day is shaped by a rhythm of prayer + worship… Getting away from the pulls and rhythms of modern society in order to reorient our lives around God’s voice + Presence.
Daily sessions of inspiring teaching from Jon & Anna White, Directors of Atelier.
Spiritual formation experiences through creativity workshops led by various artists.
Teaching sessions take place in our Lacey Room which is a relaxed informal environment with plenty of tea and coffee on tap
Daily worship and prayer hosted by Ryan & Karen Hall of the Franklin Prayer House, in the beautiful prayer room at Béthanie with plenty of space to enjoy the presence of God
Time to respond to and process the teaching through journaling, worship, art and walks in the countryside around Béthanie
Engagement & ministry with the local Bless Vineyard Church, led by Gerard & Chrissie Kelly, our wonderful friends forging the work of the local church in nearby Caen.
Community: we enjoy delicious home-cooked meals together around the table in our Apple Barn

Our week-long workshop is an immersive journey into God’s heart for you and his missional heart for the world. We will be delving into what it means to be rooted and established in our identity as sons and daughters of God, and for our worship and creativity to flow out from that place.

THE EXPERIENCE

WHAT IF I’M NOT AN ARTIST?

Whether you call yourself an artist or have seen art as part of your retreat or spiritual formation experience in the past – we are all creative, being made in the image of a creator God and we invite you to come to France and get caught up in how much your Father loves you, how much he intends for you, and how incredibly fruitful your life is when you embrace the depths of his love.

You will be surprised at the healing & refreshing that will take place in your life when you intentionally put yourself in a space like this, with a community like this. There is more for you- come & discover it!

KIDS

There will be a special “VBS Style” kids program available and child care during main sessions (pending we reach the minimum number of kids needed). Lodging at Bethanie allows families to stay “on-site” and be accessible and still able to engage in activities, worship, or ministry while children sleep or nap. It is truly a family-friendly environment!

WHAT IS ATELIER CREATE?

“Atelier”: ‘a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer.’

Atelier is a collective of worshippers & artisans connected globally through friendship and a shared heart to pursue and release the presence of God through the arts.

The journey of the artist is a journey of discovering who we are created to be. When we know our identity as sons and daughters of a loving Father and our art reflects this, we invite people into an experience of love and wholeness; and ultimately an encounter with the living God. We believe that art created through surrender to Jesus has the power to release the kingdom of heaven on earth.

We want to see the Church become the ultimate workshop or studio as it embraces and releases artists to make all things new. Check out their website or instagram.

WHY FRANCE?

As a bit of background, after years of stirring and prophetic words from the Holy Spirit regarding a missional heart for France where we processed possibly moving to Europe, we instead clearly felt the leading to move to LA and plant a church, which launched in fall 2016. We thought our work in France would be put on hold, but we met Jon & Anna White just after planting Frontier as they were in Pasadena for a year at Fuller studying Theology & Arts. We quickly connected on their work & connection to France with Bless Vineyard.
After our first visit to their countryside retreat center called “Bethanie” in 2018, we sensed a strong sense of God aliging our hearts to build relationship with them there in the Normandy region of northern France. While we do not feel this is our exclusive relationship/ministry partnership for Frontier in France or the nations by any means, we do feel it the place & relationship we are meant to really put roots into…
We believe France will be a key foundational nation for Frontier to invest in for years to come. This relationship in France is still in the wonderful beginning season of a journey to ask Holy Spirit what does this look like for us? We sense we are forging new “norms” for the ways a local church partners in the work of the gospel in other nations, particularly Western Europe… France is a complex nation- being western, “Catholic”, post-Christian, agnostic, and a hot-bed of refugee activity, immigration, and political uprising- it is a melting pot of the nations of the world and is fast changing to no longer reflect the nation of old! We hope you’ll consider joining us! -Christian & Sue, Frontier Church Senior Leaders

THE 4 VALUES OF THE BLESS NETWORK AT THE BETHANIE CENTER FOR TRANSFORMATION

NORMANDY, FRANCE