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Pastors, are you feeling stagnant? Burnt out? In need of a spiritual breakthrough? First off, don’t be afraid to admit when you need some real one-on-one time with God. Paying attention to your well-being is crucial for a healthy relationship with God. Retreats for pastors and their wives bring spiritual refreshment and are a great way to decompress.
Think about it, Jesus was constantly going off on his own to find solace and to pray. If Jesus felt the need to get away, we should also yearn for that same secluded time with God. Perhaps you haven’t truly connected with your spouse in a couple of months or dare I say, years. It’s never too late to work on your marriage and stoke those ashes. Whatever situation you find yourself in as a leader, fighting for intimate time with God and your marriage are necessities.
Church, think about your pastor, priest, evangelist, or leader. It’s easy to forget that they go through trials just like you do. But what do they do? Where do they go? Who do they talk to? We are not doing them a favor by thinking they have it all together or that they don’t go through trials just because they lead the congregation. There are options out there that aim to specifically help pastors and church leaders find refreshment. Retreats for burned out pastors are mainly for their benefit and the benefit of their marriages and families.
Here is a list of 20 retreats for pastors and their families and getaways that could be beneficial for their spiritual walks. Some are free retreats for pastors and families, some charge a fee, but whatever it is, isn’t it worth finding a way to support your pastor when they need it?
Top 20 Getaways and Retreats for Pastors
1. Zarephath Ministries
Zarephath Ministries – Simi Valley, CA
Cost: Free for Pastors
Shepherding the people of God is a high and holy calling. It is a spiritual work first and foremost. Leading the church requires men and women of character, a character that has been forged in the furnace of meeting face to face with God. Extended time alone with God allows His holiness and His fire to singe the hearts and the faces and the minds of spiritual leaders. The cornerstone of Zarephath Ministries is to offer full-time pastors and spouses a 5-day spiritual retreat, Sunday evening through Friday morning, completely free of charge.
2. Deer Ridge Ministries
Deer Ridge Ministries – Freeport, IL
Cost: Free for Pastors ($100 Refundable Deposit)
Deer Ridge Ministries was formed to encourage pastors in full-time ministry. We provide, by faith, excellent retreat facilities where pastors and spouses can rest and enjoy the presence of God without having to worry about any financial obligation. Founded in 2003, Deer Ridge Ministries is dedicated to supporting pastors and spouses by providing the gift of 5-day rest and renewal retreats and other services of encouragement.
3. Broom Tree Ministries
Broom Tree Ministries – (2 Locations) Grand Rapids, MI and Frederic, WI
Cost: Free for Pastors
The Mission of Broom Tree Ministries is to provide a gracious environment, secluded and private, protected with prayer, to which Christian leaders and their spouses can retreat from frantic schedules and become intimate with God so that He can refresh, refocus, restore, encourage, energize and equip them for the task to which He has called them. Since 1997 thousands of pastors on retreat have been revived using God’s model of restoration for Elijah; rest, sustenance, and large blocks of time with God. He gives them direction, encouragement, strength and the resolve to continue the work He has given them.
4. The Brook at Bethpage
The Brook at Bethpage – Bethpage, MO
Cost: Free for Pastors
The Brook at Bethpage is a place where pastors, missionaries, those in full-time ministry or retired from full-time ministry can escape the rigors of everyday life. There is no set agenda, therefore, you can use your time at the Brook for prayer, study, relaxation, and seeking God.
5. Shepherd’s Haven of Rest
Cost: Free for Pastors
The purpose of Shepherds’ Haven of Rest Ministries is to provide a ministry of spiritual help and encouragement to pastors and wives (including staff members, missionaries and their wives) that serves to rekindle the fires of their passion for God and ministry as well as their love for each other.
- To RENEW their spiritual lives, their walk with the Lord, their marriage, and their ministry through worship, relaxation, solitude, biblical guidance, and encouragement.
- To REFRESH their bodies, minds, and spirits.
- To REFOCUS their sense of God’s calling and purpose for their lives.
- To RESTORE their passion for God, for their marriage, and for ministry. The long-term goal of the ministry is to help curb the dropout rate of pastors and to see men serve the Lord in power and joy.
6. The Prophet’s Chamber
Cost: $60-$70 minimum donation amount for housekeeping and maintenance
Don and Susan Nordin have served in a senior pastor role for over 30 years. They are very aware of the stress and the strain that ministry can sometimes place on the ministers home, marriage and family. As a result, they have designed the Prophet’s Chamber to be a place of relaxation and refreshing for ministers and their families. The Nordins understand that proper rest is essential to the effectiveness of ministry and because of the awareness of ministry pressures this home has been designed for the purpose of relaxation and rejuvenation.
7. The Mountain Learning Center
The Mountain Learning Center – June Lake, CA
Cost: Contact for current fee
We provide a mountain retreat for pastors and their spouses where a physically enjoyable, emotionally gratifying & spiritually invigorating experience revitalizes their relationship with God, self, and others. The MLC is located in June Lake, California, beneath the awe-inspiring Sierra Nevada Mountain Range — 30 minutes from the Eastern Gate of Yosemite National Park. It is a California, not-for-profit, tax-exempt Corporation, governed by a Board of Directors. Since 1993, ministry couples in personal and professional crises have sought out the clergy care services available to them at the MLC.
8. SonScape Retreats
SonScape Retreats – (3 Locations) Colorado; Georgia; New York
Cost: $1,995 per couple ($750 holding deposit)
For over three decades, our weeklong, guided retreats for pastors and wives have helped thousands of pastors, missionaries, parachurch leaders, along with their spouses, to balance the demands of life, family, and ministry while rekindling their passion for Christ and His church. SonScape Retreats envisions God-centered, fruitful Christian communities around the world led by healthy and rested leaders drawing their life, wisdom, and empowerment from intimacy with Christ.
9. Beside Still Waters
Beside Still Waters – Anna Maria Island, FL
Cost: $250 refundable deposit; $250 minimum donation; $25 application fee; $125 cleaning fee
Beside Still Waters at Playa Del Sol is a program that recognizes the pressures of being in ministry in this day and age. Our goal is to provide a place of rest and refocus for those in need who are in the service of the Lord. This program is open to experienced pastors, ministers, missionaries, bishops, priests, or rabbis, etc. Explore our website to learn the details of how you can come and stay with us in sunny Gulf Coast Florida.
10. Shepherd’s Refuge
Shepherd’s Refuge – Turners Corner, GA
Cost: $75-$150 refundable deposit for those who serve in ministry
Established in 2003, Shepherd’s Refuge is a non-denominational, non-profit ministry dedicated to serving the needs of Vocational/Bi-Vocational Christian Pastors, full-time Church staff in a leadership position, full-time Christian ministry staff in a leadership position, and Missionaries.
11. The Lodge
Cost: 5-day Pastors’ Retreat – $650/room; 3-Day Couples’ Retreat – $300/couple
The Lodge is an ideal locale for pastors’ retreats, staff meetings, leadership events, and specialized group functions. Whether it be one of the retreats for pastors that we facilitate or one that we customize for your group, our beautiful facilities, immaculate housekeeping, and gourmet meals will envelop you in luxury.
12. Quiet Waters Ministry
Quiet Waters Ministry – Denver, CO
Cost: Contact for current fees
QuietWaters has always been very “place” oriented. Our vision states “To ensure that every Christian leader and their family has a place to seek and find restoration and renewal.” Our ministry is a safe and nurturing environment for transformation to occur in the life and ministry of each leader coming through our program. It is a place for restoration of vision and renewal of the leader’s calling. It is a luminal space where the Spirit guides the leader into the deeper places their heart must go to cross the threshold into God’s holy presence. QuietWaters Retreat Center is simply a place where grace happens.
13. Live Impact
Cost: Contact for current fees
Life Impact Ministries exists to impact all nations for Christ by strengthening the vitality of Christian leaders through hosted places of skilled personalized care. Oases hosts offer a transformative hospitality experience, providing a safe, nurturing and restorative environment
where leaders can be refueled, restored and ready to return to work with fresh vigor and endurance.
14. Hospitality Homes
Hospitality Homes — Numerous Locations
Cost: Up to 3 nights – $75 total; Up to 4-7 nights – $125 total
HospitalityHomes.org is a network of homes providing rest and renewal for full-time pastors, clergy, missionaries, chaplains, ministry directors, and other full-time Christian workers. The network of homes are privately owned by Christian hosts in the spirit of Romans 12:13 “Share with God’s people in need…practice hospitality.” They are available to full-time Christian workers seeking spiritual and physical renewal at a nominal reservation fee to the ministry. Our goal is to provide opportunities for those who are on the frontlines to “come away” with Jesus and get some rest and to be restored.
15. Pastors R&R
Cost: Free for Pastors
Pastors R&R is a ministry of The Pastors Staff, a 501(c)(3) private foundation. The main objective of Pastors R&R is to provide the use of vacation properties, free of charge (a minimal cleaning fee may apply), to full-time pastors/ministry leaders and their immediate family members, who cannot otherwise afford to get away. Pastors and ministry leaders often work long hours…day and night, week-after-week and year-after-year…with little time for rest or recreation with their spouses and/or children. Many of these ministers simply do not have the financial means to take their families on a much-needed vacation, away from their place of work, for a time of true relaxation and reconnection. That’s where we come in…
16. The Jordan Ranch
Cost: Free for Pastors
The mission of Jordan Ranch is to renew, refresh, and restore the lives of men, women, and children through the saving grace of Jesus Christ as we focus on strengthening the family to strengthen the world. This will lead to stronger communities and ultimately a stronger nation. This happens by partnering with other churches, organizations, and charities that share in this vision, providing a facility for them to accomplish their purpose. Our focus is ministry and charity, believing that through these avenues our impact will be both tangible and profound.
17. Coffee-N-Counsel
Cost: Free for Pastors
Coffee-n-Counsel Christian Ministry is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing rest and renewal to Christian Pastors, Missionaries and Workers who dedicate much of their lives to serving others. Our single-family retreat is located about an hour from Denver in Bailey, Colorado.
18. The Oaks
Cost: $25 per night
Ministry – though rewarding – is often exhausting. In our ever-accelerating world, taking time to renew your soul is vital for your well-being, and we want to make sure you can get that time away. That’s why we have a place for pastors and those in full-time ministry (and their spouse) to come for an affordable two-night stay at our Shepherd’s Rest Lodge.
19. Christian Renewal Center
Christian Renewal Center — Silverton, OR
Cost: Suggested Donation: $40/person,1st night, $20/person each additional night.
Christian Renewal Center (CRC) is a place set apart for the renewing of God’s people that their lives might bring greater glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. CRC was founded in 1970 by Pastor Allan and Eunice Hansen and is now being carried on by Tim and Julie Hansen. Christian Renewal Center has been the fulfillment of a life long dream of providing a place of spiritual refreshment for people thirsty for more of God. We are dedicated to the glory of God, and serving the Body of Christ through guest group facilities and retreat programs.
20. The Mandala Center
The Mandala Center — Eagle Nest, NM
Cost: Contact for current fees
Welcome to The Mandala Center, a non-profit retreat facility providing personalized service, comfortable accommodations, and heartfelt hospitality in the remote and beautiful setting of Northeastern New Mexico.
We offer a variety of workshops and provide rental space for groups seeking time and study for spiritual growth, personal and professional development, health and wellness, and creative expression. The Mandala Center…the perfect place to reflect, renew, rejoice!
