A retreat is somewhere you go to get away. In the kingdom of God we do not retreat. We advance, and a marriage advances the same way a family does: on purpose, together, on ground somebody had to take.
God authored a scroll over your family, a life He wrote for it before any of you got here. The Advance is three days of going after that together.
The patterns handed to you do not have to be handed to your children, and couples come to be the ones who break them.
Some couples arrive in a hard season and need a safe place to work. Others are in a good place and want it a little better. Both belong here.
In 2026, Apostle Daniel and Pastor Christian Duval took couples into the things most Christian marriage retreats and conferences never touch, the hurt underneath a reaction, the patterns that run in families, and how to pray for your spouse instead of trying to fix them.
That is an example of what an Advance covers. Every year is different, and the 2027 themes are being prayed over now.
From the 2026 Advance
What we talked about in 2026
01
God's purpose for your marriage
Marriage was given a purpose bigger than the two of you. Couples spend the first sessions finding it and putting it in their own words, so there is something to stand on when life gets loud.
02
Healing what sits underneath your reactions
Most arguments are not about the dishes. The weekend names the hurt underneath a reaction, shows how to pray for your spouse instead of fixing them, and makes room for the Holy Spirit to heal what a conversation never could.
03
Hard conversations, done well
Defensiveness, deflection, denial, criticism, shutting down. Couples learn to spot the patterns, use plain language for what they need, listen so their spouse feels heard, and press pause without walking away.
04
Deliverance and the family line
Patterns travel. What was handed down does not have to be handed on. The room goes after it, prays it off out loud, and sends couples home free of things they never agreed to carry.
These were the themes in 2026. They are an example of what an Advance covers, not the plan for 2027. Each year is different, and the 2027 themes are being prayed over now.
What you take home
What couples take home
Work you did togetherEvery session gives the two of you something to do together, and what you write is yours to keep.
Prayer over your marriage and familyApostle Daniel and Pastor Christian pray over every couple during the weekend.
Time to work on your marriageThree days away from the job, the phones and the kids, so the two of you can focus on your marriage.
Other couples doing the same workCouples at every stage of marriage, in the same room, working on the same things.
The rhythm of the weekend
Wednesday evening to Saturday afternoon
Wednesday
Arrive and settle in
Check in at the resort, then an outdoor welcome reception in the evening. Summer clothing is all you need.
Thursday and Friday
Teaching and time together
Breakfast, worship, then sessions through the day with breaks in between. Evenings are yours.
Saturday
Breakfast, the closing session, and home
Breakfast, a morning question and answer time, then the final session before couples head home.
The 2027 schedule is set closer to the weekend and sent to registered couples ahead of time.
The resort
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa
Set on the Colorado River outside Austin, the resort gives couples room to rest between sessions: pools and a lazy river, trails, a spa, golf, and quiet places to sit and talk.
About 25 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Sessions meet in the Riverbend Barn.
Photo journal
Explore Hyatt Lost Pines
The Riverbend Barn01King guest room02Guest bathroom03The outdoor fire pit04
Crooked River Water ParkA thousand foot lazy river with a swim-up bar, a two story slide, and an adults-only pool at the spaLost Pines Golf ClubEighteen holes, a thirteen acre driving range and target greensThe spaCouples massage, spa treatments and craft workshopsOut on the ranchLonghorn encounters and lassoing lessons, and guided horseback rides across ranch land
Dinner and the evenings
The evenings belong to the two of you
Sessions end and the rest of the day is yours. Six places to eat on the property, so a night out is a walk across the grounds instead of a drive into town.
Maude's Bar and TerraceCocktails and flatbreads around the fire pits, live music.
Old Buck's PlaceThe poolside grill. Tacos, burgers, frozen drinks.
McDade's EmporiumCoffee, ice cream, and shelves of Texas honey and pecans.
Your hosts
Apostle Daniel and Pastor Christian Duval
Apostle Daniel and Pastor Christian Duval founded Bride Ministries International and lead Bride Ministries Church in Katy, Texas.
Apostle Daniel is the ministry's Apostolic Leader and senior leader of the church; Christian is its Executive Pastor.
Apostle Daniel, known to many as Dan Duval, hosts the Discovering Truth with Dan Duval podcast and has written nine books.
They teach the weekend from their own marriage, not from a stage. What they ask couples to write on the first day is what the two of them wrote before they were married, and they still read it.
Happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and power can be found in your marriage. Your marriage. But what is it going to cost you? Apostle Daniel Duval, opening session, 2026
From couples who came in 2026
How God moved in their marriages
Mike and EllaJulius and Marisol AndersonMichael Sauls and Elizabeth Van DykeSimon and ChristianaDan and MistyRick and Judy LambornJames and Melanie RobertsDanny and Julie BritskyLeslie and Kaylee BogertCreighton and Moseika MedlockBrett and Cherise BestRaymond and Chebett OngaloCasey and Kelly CarrollJendrick and Loraines Hance
This type of teaching is next level. The steps that are outlined here for just human interaction are way above what I've seen at other marriage retreats.
Creighton Medlock, married 22 years
Even if you think you have a really fabulous marriage, there's always stuff because we're human.
Cherise Best, married 23 years
Every successful business has a business plan. We didn't have that for ourselves as a married couple.
Julius Anderson, married 7 years
Photo journal
Photos from the 2026 weekend
What the price covers
The room, the meals and the teaching are all one price
There is no line item waiting for you at the end of the weekend. Registration is the whole thing, for both of you.
What is includedOn your own
01
Three nights at the resortA king room at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines for the two of you, Wednesday through Saturday.
$2,100
02
Every session and workshopFour days of teaching, the couples exercises, and the private work each of you does alone.
$500
03
The Wednesday welcome receptionOutdoors, the evening you arrive, before a single session starts.
$150
04
Breakfast Thursday, Friday and SaturdayThree mornings before the sessions.
$240
05
The run of the resortPools, the lazy river, the water park, the fitness center, trails and courts.
$150
06
Monthly group marriage coachingAfter the weekend, once a month, at no cost. Kept small so the work does not stop when you drive home.
$1,000
07
Your marriage on the other side of itThe conversations you have never had, what gets healed, and how the two of you talk to each other after. This is the one line on the list that money cannot buy.
Invaluable
What all of this would cost you on your own$4,140
What a couple pays$1,750
Why registration is less than the sum of its parts. The ministry holds a group rate at the resort, and the teaching is carried by the ministry rather than billed to you. That is the whole difference between the two numbers above.
Values are what each piece would cost a couple to buy separately at published 2026 rates. Actual prices vary by date and availability.
Registration
Hold your place for 2027
$500
deposit per couple
DatesAugust 25 to 28, 2027
Full registration, per couple$1,750
IncludesAll sessions, all three nights, the welcome reception, and breakfast Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Also included10 percent off the spa and golf, plus monthly group marriage coaching after the weekend
Registration is non refundable. Payment plans are available at checkout.
Questions
Before you register
Who is the Marriage and Family Advance for?
Married couples at any stage. Some come in a hard season and need a safe place to work.
Others are in a good place and want it a little better. Both are welcome, and the teaching meets each of you where you are.
Can I come without my spouse?
No. Every session and exercise is built for the two of you to do together, so both spouses attend.
What does the deposit hold?
A deposit of $500 per couple holds your place for the 2027 weekend, and it applies toward the registration of $1,750 per couple. Registration is non refundable. Payment plans are available at checkout.
Is registration refundable?
No. Registration and the deposit are non refundable. Once a couple registers, that place is held for them, so please be sure of the dates before you register.
If something changes, email events@bridemovement.com and the events team will talk it through with you.
Can we pay in installments?
Yes. Payment plan options are built into the registration, so you can pick one at checkout.
What is included in the full registration?
Everything the weekend runs on. All sessions, workshops and exercises. Your room at the resort for all three nights, one king bed.
The Wednesday welcome reception and breakfast on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Printed materials and the resort amenities.
Registered couples also receive 10 percent off the spa and golf, and a place in the monthly group marriage coaching that continues after the weekend.
Can we add a night before or after?
Yes. Extra nights are $250 per night, before the weekend on August 23, 24 and 25 or after it on August 28, 29 and 30.
Couples put the Advance in the middle of their week and give the days on either side to the river, the trails and the spa, with nothing on the schedule and nobody to answer to. Ask the events team when you register.
Why is the price what it is?
The ministry holds a group rate at the resort, and the teaching is carried by the ministry rather than billed to you. Bought separately at published rates, the room, the meals, the reception, the resort itself and the coaching that follows come to roughly $4,140 per couple.
Registration is $1,750, and that is the reason a weekend at Lost Pines is within reach for couples at all.
What is the monthly group marriage coaching?
It runs after the Advance, once a month, and it is included at no cost for couples who attend. It is kept deliberately small so couples can keep working on what the weekend started instead of starting over each year.
Is childcare available?
No. The weekend is meant to be a focused time for the two of you. Please arrange for children to stay with family or trusted friends.
What should we bring?
A Bible, a notebook, casual clothes for the sessions, summer clothing for the outdoor reception on Wednesday evening, and anything you would want for the pools, trails and golf course.
What is the nearest airport?
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), about 25 miles from the resort, roughly a 35 minute drive.
three days, together
Give your marriage three days
The hard conversations, the healing, and the story you tell together. Your deposit holds your place, and the balance is settled on a payment plan you pick at checkout.
