Sabbaticals have long been used by churches to provide their pastors with the opportunity for rest, reconnection and renewal both personally and in their ministry.  They are recognition that Pastoral ministry is taxing and that without regular sabbatical breaks, a pastor can quickly tire, become less effective and even burn out.  Expecting a pastor to practice a habit of sabbath rest is part of our expectation that pastors are sheep of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just shepherds of a local church flock.  As sheep, our Pastors can and need to experience regular rest and renewal under the caring hand of our chief shepherd.

We value and desire that the pastors within our QB movement are healthy, effective in their ministry and have longevity in their ministry. We therefore encourage every member church of Queensland Baptist to develop or adopt a sabbatical policy for all of our fulltime pastors that would help them stay healthy, effective and vibrant in their ministry calling.

A Policy Template and associated Guide has been prepared to assist pastors and churches to examine how they might be able to develop a local church Sabbatical Leave policy for their local pastors.

The recommended Policy Template is available by clicking:

• QB Sabbatical Policy

The Sabbatical Guide examines the Biblical basis of Sabbaticals, the potential benefits for Sabbaticals as well as goals and a framework through which a Sabbatical might be structured.   An additional resources package provides many templates, examples and resources to help develop a Sabbatical plan.   These are available by clicking:

• QB Sabbatical Guidelines
• QB Sabbatical Guidelines – Appendices & Resources