Sabbaticals are an important part of the life and career of a healthy pastor or ministry worker. Having a suitable sabbatical plan can help contribute to field staff being refreshed and refocused. It can also help field staff remain in the field long-term, giving them time for refreshment and reflection regarding their ministry path.

Defining a Sabbatical

A sabbatical is an extended time of spiritual rest, renewal, rejuvenation, reflection and refocus. It is not a vacation or Paid Time Off (PTO), nor is it only continuing education.  It is a guided process where one deliberately trusts God for the outcome as they disengage from normal ministry responsibilities and leadership involvement for study, rest, renewal and evaluation of life and ministry. This can include reading books, attending seminars, studying, writing, prayer, etc.  A sabbatical has an intended purpose and plan at the outset. This plan and purpose should be agreed upon between the local church leadership or ministry and the employee. At the conclusion of the sabbatical, individuals will be expected to give an account of their sabbatical time to both their local ministry leadership and to Reliant.

Who is Eligible?

• All career employees employed by Reliant at least 7 years
• Have not already taken a sabbatical within the past 7 years
• Employed 20+ hours/week for the majority of their Reliant employment
  • If employed part-time, the employee will be able to take a sabbatical at their current hours per week
• MTD Health Status must be in good standing with your Program Team
• If there is a substantial MTD deficit or shortfall, the Program Team Lead could withhold sabbatical approval until the MTD shortfall has been addressed
• Exception: In the circumstance that an employee would desire a sabbatical prior to serving the full 7 years, an exception request can be submitted in writing to their local church leadership and Reliant for approval

Policy Parameters

Determining Sabbatical Length

• After an employee has served 7 years in the field, they are eligible to receive a sabbatical.
  • The length of time for the sabbatical must be decided locally in consensus with the employee's supervisor and leadership team and may not exceed 6 months.
• Sabbatical length and eligibility should meet both Reliant’s and the local churches standards and policies.
• Once an employee's first sabbatical is completed, they may request another after 7 years.

Common Sabbatical Parameters

• For full-time employees, full salary and benefits will be paid during the sabbatical

• For part-time employees, you will be paid for the same part-time hours you were normally logging at your ministry location

• Supervisor/Pastoral approval (board or church coach if you're a Staff Level 4 and higher)

• Reliant approval

• Agreed upon goals of the sabbatical time

  • Can include rest, reading, prayer, time in the Word, continuing education, etc.

• Planning for the sabbatical should generally begin at least 3-6 months prior to its start

• Ideally, 3 months prior to the start of a sabbatical, a written Sabbatical Proposal must be submitted beforehand to both local church leadership and Reliant for approval

  • See Sabbatical Request Form

• A summary report after the sabbatical is completed will be submitted to both the local church leadership and Reliant no later than 30 days after returning from the sabbatical

• A sabbatical should not be seen as a right or mandatory benefit that is automatically earned once every 7 years

  • If a sabbatical is not taken, it cannot build up or accrue like Paid Time Off (PTO)

Sabbatical Request Form

• Share the Sabbatical Request Form with your program team once completed
  • College Program: college@reliant.org
  • US Program: us@reliant.org
  • International: international@reliant.org 

Sabbatical Proposal should include

• Reason for requesting the sabbatical
• Proposed dates of the sabbatical
• Potential benefits to the individual
• Potential benefits to the church or ministry
• Plan for covering job responsibilities during the sabbatical
• Specific goals and objectives for the sabbatical (books to read, travel involved, journaling, etc.)
• People you are supervising/coaching
• A summary of any anticipated reimbursements related to the sabbatical
  • For more detail on what expenses qualify, please review the Reimbursements and Expense Recovery page.
• Proposal should ideally be submitted at least 3 months prior to beginning of the requested sabbatical
  • Reliant's approval process for proposals generally takes up to 2 weeks

Post-Sabbatical reports should include

• Spiritual benefits gained from the sabbatical
• Personal benefits gained from the sabbatical
• Benefits to the local church or ministry (if applicable)
• Summary of how well you met your goals and objectives for the sabbatical
• Summary of how your sabbatical went from your spouse's perspective (if applicable)

Reporting Abuse

• Any abuse or misuse of an approved sabbatical granted by Reliant should be reported directly to the Program Team lead. This could include an employee returning to work during the time or simply treating the sabbatical like an extended paid vacation

Sabbatical Handholds

• If you're looking for more guidance and inspiration, please refer to our Sabbatical Handholds page.