Sabbatical Leave: Rethinking Our Approach to Ministry

The increasing pressures and demands of ministry in our day prove the need for rethinking our approach to ministry. According to a study conducted by Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wegner, pastors leave the ministry for three reasons; conflict, a preference for a specialized ministry and thirdly, burnout, discouragement, stress and overwork. Another study found that 1,500 pastors leave their assignments every month in the United States because of conflict, burnout, or moral failure. The solution for curbing conflict is easy, pastors require conflict resolution training to sharpen their communication and reconciliation skill sets with those they work with, yet these studies show many more issues contribute to a clergy’s demise. The plethora of issues resulting from these studies indicates a different approach to ministry is needed. Some church leaders would call for more personal prayer, holiness and accountability. These items are good and should already be part of a pastor’s spiritual repertoire. Pastors’, however, need a proactive approach when facing the onslaught of significant burnout. What’s the solution? Churches should consider giving their pastors a Sabbatical leave for a specified period of time before any major issues emerge. In other words, the time for a Sabbatical is not when the church board realizes their pastor needs one, it’s before! A Sabbatical is simply a strategically calculated and planned get-a-away from one’s normal duties to rest, rejuvenate one’s health and vitality, in order to regain perspective and renew passion.

Most churches do not have a strategic plan for tenured pastoral staff members to take extended time off. Could it be that they feel put out, having to find a replacement? It seems easier to give a pastor an extended vacation period. Even then, an extended period of vacation doesn’t seem to have the full effects of a prolonged Sabbatical. After a pastor finally unwinds on vacation, which usually takes 3 to 5 days, thoughts of ministry begin to flood the mind, such as, “I’ve got 7 more days left.” The full range and pull of family activities during a vacation don’t lend to the quality of time that prolonged periods of solitude create to rest the mind and recalibrate a pastor’s thinking. Many pastors’ return from vacation with a nice tan and quality time spent with the family but find themselves exhausted all over again when thoughts of a neglected ministry budget, and a list of ministry priorities await them.

Biblical Precedents for Sabbatical Leave

Where do we find a Biblical context for Sabbaticals? The Old Testament provides insight into the Sabbath rest. According to the Tennessee Baptist Convention, “Among the Israelites, God instituted the Sabbath year (Leviticus 25:1-5). On every seventh year, the children of Israel were to refrain from farming the land and let the earth rest. Both the Israelites and the land benefited from the Sabbath rest. Shmita, the Hebrew word for the Sabbatical year, literally means “release”. In other words, a Sabbatical is a scheduled time to release the ground from producing its normal crop, which would also relieve the worker from his or her seasonal work cycle.

In the New Testament we find Jesus breaking away from his ministry routine. The scriptures do not state the length of Jesus’ retreats but the word “often” in Luke 5:16 provides a clue into his customary strategy. The value of these “mini-retreats”, perhaps 2 to 3 days in the mountains, set an example for his disciples of the importance of recurring rest to revitalize self. In the book of Acts we find the apostle Peter on a personal retreat at a beach house next to the city of Joppa (Acts 10:6). The home of a tanner was an unusual place for Peter’s seaside retreat, since a tanner dealt with the cleaning and dying of animal hides to make leather, thus making his work “unclean” for a Jew. The Tanner’s home could have offered Peter a place of seclusion away from the demand of ministry; undetected by the curious seekers who witnessed the recent miracles in Lydda and Joppa. It’s interesting how an Angel disclosed Peter’s secret location to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6) could it be no one else knew his itinerary? Isn’t this the ideal retreat, where no one knows your whereabouts? Now, that we have a Biblical precedent for Sabbaticals, what should be the appropriate length for one?

Appropriate Lengths for Sabbaticals

The appropriate length for a Sabbatical depends on the pastor and his or her reason for taking one. Some pastors cannot fathom being away from “their” ministry for undetermined periods of time. While other pastors are forced into Sabbatical leave for significant burnout, emotional adultery, medical problems, loss of passion for their people and their ministry, and many other reasons. Joseph Mantera, in his article Eight Reasons Why Pastors Fail, recommends the need to take regular times of rest and/or sabbaticals. Mantera’s Sabbatical formula works out as follows:
•  1 year for every 7 years in ministry.
•  1 day for every 7 days.
•  3 days away for prayer and reflection every 3 months.

My-Pastor.com, an online resource for pastors and ministry leaders, recommends:

A good general guideline is to provide one month of sabbatical for every two years of service. So if your pastor has ministered in your church four years since his last sabbatical, give him two months. I, however, wouldn't exceed four months away because the transition back into church ministry becomes very difficult after that point.

As you can see Sabbatical formulas vary from one year off for every seven years of ministry performance, to one month for every two years in ministry. Although opinions vary, one thing is for certain, research indicates a need for extended time off for rest and relaxation so pastor’s can revive body, soul, mind and spirit.

In June 2008, as I was approaching 15 years of fulltime ministry I was privileged to take a 30-day Sabbatical. I spent the first week alone at a friend’s cabin in the mountains of Utah. My agenda at the cabin was to meet with God and lay a foundation for the remainder of my time off. The solitude was difficult to handle at first; I prayed, read my Bible, wrote extensively in my journal, went on nature walks, and read a great book, Abba’s Child. The rest of the time I visited family and some friends, went to the beach a few days and attended a Delirous? concert at Disneyland. In the aftermath of my Sabbatical, a veteran female pastor discovered I had not fully rested. In return she quipped that my leave should have been extended for another year. I couldn’t agree more. Something has to change in the form of creating and adopting Sabbatical policy for pastoral staff members.

Sabbatical Benefits and Policy Formation

When considering church policy and strategic planning for pastoral Sabbaticals, a church board should first consider the value and impact of taking significant time off. Here’s what some pastors had to say after returning from their Sabbatical:

•  Getting away from the demands of the church helped put things in perspective and helped me remember Who I really serve.
•  Getting away helped me appreciate my family more.
•  Getting away revived my soul and renewed my relationship with God.
•  Getting away helped me rest heart, mind, body and soul. Spiritual, mental, emotional and physical rest made the Sabbath complete. I came back “completely” renewed.
•  Getting away helped me be “fed” spiritually without being drained by feeding others. I love teaching and preaching, counseling, etc., but I came back “full” and more ready to carry out all the tasks of being a pastor.
•  I simply came back a better husband, dad and pastor because of feeling empowered by Gods Spirit again.

A pastor-friend of mine offered his insights about the importance of Sabbatical leave from his 20-year ministry experience:

“I have been in ministry for over 20 years and I have seen many Senior Pastor's leave ministry from burnout. Moral failure in many cases could have been avoided if Pastor's were given time off to reflect on the importance of their own personal relationship with God. We (ministers) become so focused on everyone else's needs that we forget our own.”

The benefits of Sabbatical leave far outweigh the negative implications for perpetuating mediocrity on Sunday. Churches should consider Sabbatical policy as part of a pastor’s benefit package. In retrospect, a 30 to 60-day paid Sabbatical leave after five years of fulltime ministry is sensible policy. Another critical component when formulating Sabbatical policy is considering a “mandatory” clause, ensuring compliance within the fifth year of service (See Appendix A for more recommendations).

In summation, adopting a Sabbatical fringe benefit in church policy may leave many pastors
feeling like a “special class” of citizen, out of touch with the lives of their members. After all the scriptures speak of adopting the “attitude of a servant”; servants have no special privileges. However, pastors must come to grips with the facts, the current ministry paradigm is not working, and the pressures of ministry are putting a load of upon pastors and their families. A Sabbatical leave policy is a reasonable approach to honor, keep and build healthy pastors. The goal of Sabbatical leave should be renewed passion for life and ministry leading to better overall health, fruitfulness and ministry longevity.

Joel Garcia
The Jogar Group
President & Coaching Leader

The Jogar Group was created for the purpose of transforming C.E.O.’s (Churches, Executives and Organizations) by enhancing personal and organizational performance, which inevitably leads to growth and expansion. The Jogar Group provides leadership and organizational development, seminars, team training, executive coaching and mentoring. The key to the Jogar Group’s developmental strategy is discovering, cultivating and leveraging individual and team members’ gifts and abilities to bring about transformation. For more information contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .