How to Write a Pastor Sabbatical Proposal

My previous post on what to include in a church sabbatical policy has been one of the more popular and engaged posts on this site.

And the recent national survey of my church network (the PAOC) reveals why: out of 550+ pastors surveyed, 74% say their church has no sabbatical policy, and 90% have never taken a sabbatical.

90% of PAOC pastors have never taken a sabbatical

But having the policy is only half the battle. Eventually you have to plan for and take it! And a sabbatical is not the same thing as a vacation, so a proposal (as required in the policy) is essential.

So, to help pastors create a suitable proposal, I'm making ours available in order to help you get started and know what to include.

It's a little personal and of course is originally written only for the small audience of our church council (board). But I'm making it public in hopes it will help jumpstart some sabbatical plans!

As you'll see, I decided to organize it by highlighting our plans for our spiritual, physical, mental, intellectual, and relational health and development.

Note: I've left out last names of any persons named.

DUTKO SABBATICAL PROPOSAL & PLAN

Start Date: April 1 (April 3)

End Date: Aug. 22 (first Sunday, Aug. 28)

Explanatory Notes:

16 weeks Sabbatical: April 1 to July 23

4 weeks vacation (20 days): July 24 to Aug. 22 (Aug. 1 holiday)

Accountability Partner: Dave (to check in with on sabbatical goals/progress)

Spiritual Director: TBD if applicable (see below)

Intro

First, we’d like to extend our deep gratitude to the church and council for allowing us this gift of a sabbatical to be refreshed. Our honest and deepfelt prayer is that our sabbatical will bear much fruit for the kingdom long-term, not just in our lives but for the church as well.

The following is a brief proposal of how we plan to bring health and refreshment to five areas: our spiritual, physical, mental, relational, and intellectual wellbeing.

Spiritual (spiritual renewal)

We are excited to slow down and attend to the health of our souls and interior life, and perhaps nothing in our sabbatical is more important than that. The last few years of intense growth and change in the church (including the constant changes of COVID-era church) have taken a toll on us and we can say without a doubt they have been the hardest and most stressful stretch of ministry we’ve ever had. This sabbatical couldn’t come at a better time in light of the past 2 years!

Although I’m unsure if I can commit to it until I get I feel for where I’m at on my doctorate, I will consider “enrolling” in a soul care course/mentoring such as: https://www.leadershipii.com/

At minimum, I hope to start working through the book The Sacred Slow: A Holy Departure from Fast Faith, which the above course is based on.

We plan to still attend a church regularly, both when at home and when traveling.

Physical (exercise, diet, sleep, rest/recreation)

For several years, I (Joseph) have been battling chronic fatigue, much of which I attribute to stress (see below!). I am hopeful removing some stressors will allow my body to heal and also lead me to learning how to better deal with stress.

We plan to continue our exercise routines and current healthy eating habits.

I also have some medical tests and procedures lined up or that I’ve been waiting for our sabbatical for.

Mental/Emotional (counselling, new hobby, engaging five senses)

We look forward to slowing down the pace of our lives so that we can more intentionally engage the five senses and assess our mental health.

I (Joseph) have been open about my nearly decade-long battle with depression, and I’m curious to test how much of it is related to work and stress and what that might teach.

Because counselling has not been that fruitful for me, I’d like to see if I can find time to meet with a psychologist to go a bit deeper. Ideally, I’d also like to use this time off to try and experiment (if feeling okay) decreasing or weening off some of my medications.

Intellectual (vocational development, study, writing, academic progress)

This is a big one and a major use of sabbatical time! One of the primary drivers of taking the sabbatical is to ensure I successfully finish my seven-year PhD journey!

During sabbatical I, Lord willing, will have the opportunity to defend my thesis, make required revisions, and submit for graduation. I hope to travel to England for one (or both) of those activities.

Working toward publishing the thesis is also a possibility during sabbatical, depending on how I progress on finishing, but the bigger goal is to rest and celebrate this achievement.

I doubt I’ll find time for this on sabbatical, but another goal once I’m done with my doctorate is to write more.

Either way, a plan ensuring I have the time and opportunity to write more when I come back is probably essential for my continued role as it’s a strong desire I have. Therefore, I expect some of my personal reflection time will be on discerning how my desire to write might be best used for God’s kingdom and how it fits in with current responsibilities.

Relational (family time/investment, travel)

This is potentially the biggest use of our time and we believe it to be extremely important to ensure that we can extend our time at Oceanside. We really miss our families (and of course COVID has made it even harder). We have not seen 3 of our 4 parents in more than 2 years and some siblings for much longer absences than that. Joseph has not been “home” in the summer to see family for over a decade. We plan to spend 1-2 months in the United States visiting family as well as finding recreation/vacation time.

And of course, once the PhD is finished, Joseph looks forward to making up for lots of lost time with the family!

Disengagement Plan (pre-Sabbatical)

We’ll began delegation of some tasks starting in January and continue through March (and much of this has already begun in 2021 in anticipation of the sabbatical). Staff will be trained in some weekly responsibilities such as weekly e-newsletter, social media posting, creation of order of service (including working weekly with music leader on songs), scheduling of some teams/volunteers, reviewing financials, payroll, communicating with commercial and residential tenants (and rent), and overseeing facility and maintenance, as well as all church accounts and business/service provider relationships (banking, suppliers, online accounts, etc.).

A few weeks prior (March 16), I will begin my out of office/sabbatical auto-reply as well as auto-forwarding my emails to Christiana so we can practice what issues might arise.

We hope to develop a tentative (but still flexible) Sunday/event schedule (like we always have) for the time we’re gone (through Aug.) so staff has a plan to work from.

Plan for Covering Work Responsibilities in My Absence

I am so grateful for Pastor Dave and Pastor Gavin to help lead our church as sabbatical fill-in pastors.

Here’s the tentative plan for dates:

Dave: 11 weeks, March 27 – June 12 (16 hrs/wk or 0.4 time)

Gavin: 11 weeks, June 12 – Aug. 28 (20 hrs/wk)

Sunday, March 27 Dave overlaps with Dutkos and transitions in (Gavin ideally there too)

Sunday, June 12 Gavin overlaps with Dave and transitions in

Sunday, August 28 Dutkos overlap with Gavin and transition back in

They will provide much of the preaching supply, as well as coordinating with the staff through staff meetings on weekly services as well as additional events throughout the time we’re gone (Good Friday, Easter, potentially occasional outdoor services in the summer, summer activities, church picnic, etc.)

Due to only 11 weeks each, they likely won’t engage council meetings or act as interim chair of the council. I will choose an interim chair from within the council. I will arrange with the council how often and when they want to meet in our absence.

Overall, we believe us being away will strengthen and grow our team’s sense of ownership and make the church healthier in the long term.

How I may be contacted

Of course we request we’re only contacted when necessary. However, we are happy to be contacted by phone if an issue is time-sensitive or via our personal email when needed:

Joseph email

Hannah email

Re-entry and Follow-up Plan

We plan to return on a Monday to allow us to ease in carefully and slowly. We will ideally overlap with the fill-in pastors on that first Sunday, Aug. 28, and they will preach.

This timeline should give us adequate time to plan for the Fall and for when things tend to pick up more at the church in early to mid October.

We’ll of course be very excited to re-connect with our staff and the church!

We’ll submit a written report to the council and accountability partner within one month of returning.

Again, thank you for trusting us with this opportunity. We are thrilled we have made it to this milestone of longevity and believe this will lead to more long-term health for the church.

With gratitude,

Joseph & Hannah Dutko