A classroom, crosses on the dam, the Beatitude trail and 188 acres for your congregation alone.
Texas Church Retreats4.9153 reviews · 105 Google + 48 Website
Texas Church Retreats at Lake Godstone: family camps, youth retreats, men’s and women’s weekends and choir getaways on a private 188-acre lake campus near Graford, Texas. One church at a time, lodging for 100 or more, church and non-profit discounts.
Where the congregation sleeps
The Lodge sleeps 35. Add the Guest Home, the cabins and the campgrounds to reach a hundred or more.
Hear first when this host opens direct rates or adds a new place.
“Whether you seek quiet moments with the Lord, meaningful fellowship, or joyful group activities”
The ranch is big enough for all three at once. A hundred people can be fishing, singing and praying in different corners of it without hearing one another.
A retreat weekend
How one church does it
From a congregation on its third annual family retreat here: 42 adults, 25 children, the whole campus.
Where everyone sleeps
Where the congregation sleeps
The Lodge sleeps 35. Add the Guest Home, the cabins and the campgrounds to reach a hundred or more.
The Lodge dormitory, the sports complex under lights, the treehouse, the lake and the campgrounds keep a youth group busy from dawn to lights-out. Outdoor ministries have run firearm-safety and fishing camps here, and the fenced, gated ranch with hosts on site makes supervision simpler. Ask about church and non-profit discounts.
Everything on this ranch was built to point people toward God. The Beatitude stones along the trail, the illuminated crosses on the dam and at Refuge, the quiet nooks for prayer and the big porch for fellowship: they are here for your congregation to use.
We host one church at a time, so the whole campus is yours for worship, teaching, recreation and rest. Dom and Carol live on the ranch and will take care of the practical things. Ask us about discounts for churches and non-profits.
May your retreat be fruitful.
Jim Attrell
Owner, Lake Godstone
Video tours
Walk the ranch before you come
Jim’s own tours of the Lodge, every cabin and campground, the range, the trail and the lake from above.
A few of the thousands of photos our guests have taken here.
Lake Godstone
Find us
Graford, Texas, between Possum Kingdom and Jacksboro
4636 Halsell Ranch Road, Graford. From Graford take Highway 4 north seven miles, turn west onto Halsell Ranch Road and follow the gravel four miles; the lake is on your right. About 90 minutes from Fort Worth and two hours from Dallas.
All of it included with the Lodge, none of it shared with strangers.
On the water
Start at the dock
Every morning somebody is fishing off the Lodge porch before the coffee is ready. Seven docks ring the lake, with fish feeders that bring the bluegill in close enough to watch. The kids take the kayaks and pedal boats; the grandparents take the rowboat; everybody ends up on the lily pads by afternoon. Swim ladders at every dock, three beaches, a water slide at the Lodge, and not a single motorboat.
On land
Four miles of trail and a six-person UTV
The Tranquil Trail is a six-foot-wide marked path through forest and meadow with benches, a porta-potty and the comfort station along the route; walk it, run it or bring mountain bikes. The all-weather roads add six more miles for the UTV and golf carts. Geocaches are hidden across the ranch (the Google Earth map has the coordinates), and the hayride at dusk is the one thing every group does.
Under the lights
The sports complex
A floodlit basketball court, sand volleyball, a soccer and baseball practice field with goals and a backstop, horseshoe pits and picnic tables, next to the Field House and the observatory.
Things to do
Nobody will be bored
Everything below is included with the Lodge. The UTV, golf carts and firewood are the only things that cost extra.
After dark
Fire, stars and the green lights at the feeders
Nearly twenty rock fire pits are scattered across the ranch, from the six-foot steel pit at the Lodge to the little ones at the tent sites. The observatory’s Celestron telescope will find Saturn for you. And at the wildlife stands, green lights let you watch the deer and raccoons come in without disturbing them.
