Who can go on a Beauty for Ashes trip?

Women ages 19 to 69. A few trips cap at 65. You can come alone or with friends; most teams are 10 to 20 women.

What does a women's mission trip cost?

From $575 (Manchester, New Hampshire) to $1,700 (Spain), with most international trips between $1,100 and $1,322. That covers lodging, meals, ground transportation, and retreat materials. Airfare is separate.

Do I need to be a speaker or counselor?

No. The curriculum is provided and you practice it in three virtual training sessions. What you bring is your own honest story.

What does the retreat look like?

Your team hosts sessions for local women on worth, identity, healing, and forgiveness, shares meals and conversation, and on some trips leads sessions for the women's children.

How does payment work?

A $100 deposit one week after acceptance, 50 percent six weeks before the trip, and the balance one month before. Payments are non-refundable.

Can my church host a Beauty for Ashes trip?

Yes. Custom trips are available for small groups; we handle logistics and provide the curriculum and support. Ask about Facilitator Training if you want to bring the retreat home to your own community.

We monitor conditions at every site and will change locations if risks rise. Your trip leader is trained and stays with the team all week. The South Asia location is not published, to protect the women we serve.

Beauty for Ashes women gathered together for a group photo

MISSION TRIPS FOR

Beauty for Ashes Women's Mission Trips

Safe places where stories can be shared and grace given.

Length: 5 days / 6 days / 7 days / 8 days
Ages: 19+
Group size: Individuals and small groups; trips cap at 10 to 20 women
From: $575

The fit

Who it's for.

Beauty for Ashes is a movement inviting women into the freedom God designed for them. On these women's mission trips you travel with a small team of women, usually 10 to 20, and host a retreat for local women in partnership with a ministry that knows them. You speak about worth, identity, healing, and forgiveness. You listen. And you discover that your own story matters as much as theirs.

The program takes its name from Isaiah 61, and since its first trip in 2014 it has reached more than 5,000 women in 60 countries through retreats and small groups. Trips run five to eight days in Albania, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, South Asia, and Spain, and in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, and in Northeast Georgia. Each one is a women's retreat mission trip: you are both the one serving and the one being met by God.

You do not need to be a speaker or a counselor. You need to be a woman ages 19 to 69 (some trips cap at 65) who is willing to be honest about her own life. Before you go, you join three live virtual training sessions, usually on weekday evenings, where you meet your trip leader and team and walk through the retreat. Daily tasks change with the need, so come ready to do whatever is required.

Women ages 19 to 69, depending on the trip
Individuals, friends, and small groups from a church women's ministry
Mothers and adult daughters (Guatemala hosts a mother-daughter trip)
Women who want to serve other women and do their own healing work along the way

The work

What you'll do.

Host a Beauty for Ashes retreat

Lead sessions on worth, identity, healing, and forgiveness for local women alongside a partner ministry.

Share your story

Vulnerability is the ministry. You tell the truth about your own life so other women can tell theirs.

Serve the women's children

On several trips, teams lead Christ-centered sessions for the children of the women attending.

Specialized outreach

Prison ministry and refugee outreach in Colombia, a Camino de Santiago retreat in Spain, and reservation ministry in New Mexico.

The process

How it works.

01
Get in touch
Fill out the short inquiry form or call 800-881-2461. Tell us which destination interests you and whether you are coming alone or with friends.
02
Interview and acceptance
A Beauty for Ashes interviewer talks with you by phone. Acceptance is usually decided at the end of that call.
03
Reserve with a $100 deposit
Your deposit is due one week after acceptance and is applied to your total. Payments are non-refundable.
04
Raise support and train
You get fundraising tools and a trip page. Fifty percent is due six weeks before the trip and the balance one month before. You also attend three live virtual training sessions with your leader and team.
05
Go
Fly to the designated city, meet your leader and team, and spend the week hosting retreats and sharing life with the women there.

The details

What it costs and what you get.

Trip costs range from $575 per person for the six-day Manchester, New Hampshire trip to $1,700 per person for Spain, with most international trips between $1,100 and $1,322; the price is also your fundraising goal. A $100 deposit is due one week after acceptance and counts toward the total. Fifty percent is due six weeks before the trip and the full balance one month before. All payments are non-refundable.