The Sexual and Relational Healing Retreat was birthed out of Apostle Shawnette Houghton’s own journey from woundedness, barrenness, and brokenness to wholeness in Christ Jesus. Her desire to see the Body of Christ relationally and sexually whole may have started because of her own history of sexual deviance. What the enemy meant for evil, God saw a vessel that He would redeem and release in His se
rvice, for the benefit of His people. As Apostle Nina Marie was ministering about sexual brokenness, she heard the voice of the Lord ask her “if she would stand in the gap for other people’s healing. Will you be a catalyst for other people’s wholeness, since you know what this level of wounded-ness and brokenness is like?” The Holy Spirit assured her, that if she would lead, others would follow her into real healing, deliverance and rest. Since the breaking of the new millennium, Labourers For Christ Ministries (LFC) has hosted a Sexual and Relational Healing Retreat. In 2000, the first Retreat was held at the Thea Bowman Center in Chicago, Illinois with approximately seventy participants in attendance. Currently, the retreat has outgrown that number to over six hundred participants. Due to the increase of participants as well as the addition of the many different ministry components, the retreat has been forced to seek facilities that are capable of accommodating the necessary needs. For instance in 2002, the retreat was not only stimulated to move on to the Ramada Hotel, but the youth component was added so that all Gods Sons and Daughters from newborn to adolescents could be ministered to. God revealed that the devil is no respecter of person or age and the younger that Satan can get our children to believe his lies and live his lies as truth, the more likely he can and will take them to the lake of fire if we do not resist him. But God says resist the devil and he will flee! In 2003, other ministry components were birth out of the retreat such as The Seven Wonders and the Leadership and Medical Components. God saw the necessity for HIV/STD testing due to the increase of sexual behavior, especially his leaders. Therefore, HE has allowed HIV/STD testing at the retreat through the medical ministry so that people would not be ignorant about their health status. The Seven Wonders experience has been one of the highlights of the retreat. The theme (material, physical content of the room) of the Seven Wonders changes each year, but His powerful, spiritual manifestation does not. It is guaranteed that one will encounter the heavy, tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. This meeting will change your life in a powerful way as testimony after testimony attests to this fact. Each year the birth of new ministry is released or added to the retreat. It is known that brokenness knows no limits or boundaries. Satan is always on his job. He never experiences lay-offs, vacations, down-sizing, or firings. Therefore, there was a Kingdom call to expand the retreat in other parts of the country and world. In 2004, LFC—Harvest Christian Training Center located in Toledo, Ohio, hosted our first out-of-state retreat where it continues to be the home of the Leadership Training Sexual Relational Healing Retreat. In 2006, Labourers for Christ borders were again enlarged to include Cleveland, Ohio where it is the home of the Youth Sexual Relational Healing Retreat (hosted by Youth Devoted to Christ Ministries & Holy Spirit Fed Holy Spirit Led Ministries) and in that same year Abuja, Nigeria, Africa, (hosted by Break-Through Ministries). The retreat held in November consist of 78 hours of continued worshiping and communing with God. Every year it is another opportunity to be servants to the process of other people’s healing, deliverance and wholeness during the seventy-eight hours of continuous Word & Worship. We have seen the power of God move in setting His people free from the enemy’s grasp and making them whole during this 78-hour weekend. Why not come and be a part of this tremendous move of God, as He uses those who were wounded, to help others who find themselves suffering from woundedness and brokenness now. Access your healing and begin to activate your destiny in Christ Jesus.
