NZ CHRISTIAN WRITERS RETREAT 2025

Date: May 1st to 4th 2025
Time: Thursday 1st May, arrivals 3pm-5pm, to Sunday 4th May 2025, departures 11am-12noon (3 nights)
Venue: Flaxmill Retreat Centre, 1031 Purangi Road, RD 1, Whitianga 3591 [Google Map link for Directions]

*** 7 of 50 Booked | 14% FULL!! ***

PROGRAMME: Download our NZCW Retreat 2025 Programme.

DETAILS: NZ Christian Writers are hosting our Retreat 2025 at Flaxmill Retreat Centre in Whitianga. Costs are all-inclusive per person for three nights. All linen supplied. Please feel free to bring home baking for snacks and supper. Visit the Flaxmill Retreat Centre website for details: www.flaxmillbay.co.nz

SPEAKERS: Our inspirational speakers will bring seminar sessions and practical workshops to encourage, inspire, and upskill each of us on our writing journey. Our confirmed speakers are:



Vicki Millar | Seminars: “God’s Gift of Story” & “How To Structure Your Story”
Murray Smith | Seminars: “Discovering Your Writing Lane” & “Writing To Reach The ‘Unreached’”
Sina Steele | Workshops: “Psalm Writing” & “Social Media”
Chris Bovill | Workshop: “Devotion Writing”
Rachel Weston | Workshop: “Writing With Passion”
Peter Anderson | Church Sermon: “God Is Speaking: Are We Listening?”
Rosie Boom | Church Worship Leader

SPEAKERS | BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES:
Our first confirmed speaker is: Vicki Millar, speaking on: God’s Gift of Story, and How To Structure Your Story.

VICKI MILLAR has been writing & producing original musicals for 25+ years in NZ, Australia & the UK. With a Masters Degree from the University of London, Vicki wrote/produced The Aussie TV Show for The Australian Christian Channel, plus manuscripts in children’s fiction & personal development. For LIFE church in Auckland, Vicki has been a writer for the annual Christmas Spectacular over the last 10 years. Through her company Writers on Purpose, she runs the Writers Accelerator Program – online video training & coaching to develop initial ideas into a completed book or script. Vicki is based in Titirangi, West Auckland.

Our second confirmed speaker is: Murray Smith, speaking on: Discovering Your Writing Lane, and Writing To Reach The ‘Unreached’.

MURRAY SMITH is a New Zealander who began his career in graphic art. A call to church leadership and a desire to encourage people to become everything they could be, has resulted in him leading, teaching and pastoring for over thirty years. As well as speaking into national and international settings, Murray’s passion for reaching the ‘unreached’ has been a strong motivation for engaging with writing over many years. As an author, article contributor for magazines and journals, and as a regular columnist for various publications, he maintains ongoing writing commitments, convinced of the power in the written word.

Our third confirmed speaker is: Sina Steele, sharing practical workshops: Psalm Writing, and Social Media.

SINA STEELE is a Christian writer based in the Waikato. She is of Samoan and Pākehā heritage, and is currently on faculty at Eastwest College of Intercultural Studies. Sina is the founder of Her Mustard Faith, a Christian writing ministry that reaches many around the world. Her kaupapa in writing is to encourage and inspire people towards God. Her two poetry books, ‘Flourishing’ and ‘Soul Scribbles’, read like modern-day, personal psalms, and she is passionate about using her creativity to serve others.

Our fourth confirmed speaker is: Chris Bovill, presenting her inspiring workshop: Devotion Writing.

CHRIS BOVILL is passionate about strengthening families and encouraging women to grow and flourish in their relationship with God. For twenty years Chris has organised the annual HEART (Home Educators’ Annual RetreaT), providing space for countless women to be refreshed. Her deepest desire is to grow to be more like Jesus, encourage those around her, and wring as much joy out of each day as possible! Chris lives with her husband Mark on a dairy farm in Waikato, New Zealand. They have six adult children and eight adorable grandchildren.

Our fifth confirmed speaker is: Rachel Weston, presenting her workshop: Writing With Passion.

RACHEL WESTON is a bestselling children’s author who lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. Home Educating her three (now adult) children started her passion for writing. Rachel crafts tales that spark the imagination and fosters a love of reading in young readers. She understands that nothing beats snuggling up with one or more children for story time. Rachel has published six children’s books, two non-fiction books, Bumblebees Have Smelly Feet and her latest Kiwi Bees Have Tiny Knees, and four popular picture books. When not writing, Rachel enjoys exploring nature and the beach with her family and two oversized dogs.

Our sixth confirmed speaker is: Peter Anderson, sharing a Church sermon on the theme of: God Is Speaking: Are We Listening?

PETER ANDERSON was born in Zimbabwe, and studied at the University of Cape Town. After teaching high school geography, he studied at London School of Theology. From 1976, Peter and his late wife Geralyn served in Asia, first with OMF International and then with the Jian Hua Foundation. The first edition of Peter’s book “Weapons of Peace” was published in Hong Kong in 1995. Peter and his ‘second blessing’ Elizabeth returned to NZ in 2005 and from 2006 had ten years in pastoral ministry on Auckland’s North Shore. From 2016 to 2021 Peter was an Adjunct at Carey Baptist College. Peter’s book ‘Africa to China with Love: A Lifelong Missional Adventure’, focussing on his experiences in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China (1976-2005), was published by Castle Publishing in 2023.

Plus the worship leader for our Church service is: Rosie Boom.

ROSIE BOOM, author, speaker and singer-songwriter, lives with her husband Chris and their six children on a small lifestyle block near Whangarei. She spent her childhood in the jungles of New Guinea, and wrote her first short story there at age nine. It won an Australasian short story competition and Rosie received a first edition copy of The Fellowship of the Ring as a prize. She is a registered nurse, and worked for a year in Borneo before returning to NZ to marry Chris. They have six children whom Rosie home schools. She speaks at many homeschooling conventions and parenting workshops throughout NZ and overseas. She began writing in earnest in 1999 and a number of her short stories and articles have been published in the NZ School Journal and overseas magazines. She has had seven books published.

Please find here the costing details for registering your place at our Retreat 2025.

COSTS:
Costs are dependent upon your accommodation option.
Costs are all-inclusive including all meals and costs are per person for a total of three nights:

HOUSE (3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6) = $390 per person
or
COTTAGE (1 Bedroom, Sleeps 2) = $440 per person [ ONLY 4x COTTAGE SPACES LEFT! ]

NZ Christian Writers has qualified for a subsidised charitable rate from the Big Toe Foundation as a not-for-profit group staying at Flaxmill Retreat Centre. It is our intention to keep overall costs down while providing a quality and valuable retreat experience.

PLEASE NOTE: As we are limited to 50 attendees, we anticipate our Retreat 2025 to be fully booked, so we encourage you to secure your space by booking and paying as early as possible.

PAYMENT PREFERENCE: When booking, please use Internet Banking as the preferred payment option. This avoids any Debit Card or Credit Card fees that are applied per transaction.

REFUND POLICY:
We have a 100% refund policy up until March 20th 2025. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue any refunds after this date as venue bookings would have been confirmed and paid to Flaxmill for all of our Retreat 2025 attendees.

*** 7 of 50 Booked | 14% FULL!! ***