August 1, 2025

It’s official. I am starting my three-month ministry sabbatical today. It’s a surreal feeling. To be perfectly honest with you, it’s a bit overwhelming. With all of the emotions that are stirring through me at this point, I thought I would take the chance in today’s article to share with you authentically what I am planning for this time, the unsettled feeling that comes with it, and how I hope to see God move in my life as a result. 

The sabbath day which is introduced to the people of Israel in the Old Testament has its roots in the very beginning of time. 

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. -Exodus 20:8-11 

God established a day when his people would rest from their work. He modeled it for us after his creation in Genesis 2. God sat on his glorious throne and marveled at his creation taking in the beauty and majesty of what he had done. Fast forward to Exodus 20. For 400 years the Hebrew people had only known their identity as slaves who were producing for the economy of Egypt. As God brought them out of slavery and established his covenant with them, the sabbath day was a reminder to them of their true identity – not as slaves working to produce anything – but as sons and daughters of God. They were to rest in God and not in the work of their hands. His provision, his care, and his majesty were to be their focus on the sabbath.  

As I prepare for my sabbatical, this is not lost on me. The purpose of this time is to rest. And I plan to do that. I won’t be coming into the office nor will I be involved in the day-to-day ministry operations. I have plans to read several books (ones that will challenge and uplift my connection with my Heavenly Father and some fiction as well). I have plans to spend some one-on-one time with each of my kids and some friends. I will travel with Denise to spend a week of connection at a retreat cabin provided for pastors and their spouses. I will take a couple of opportunities for personal solitude retreats and to meet with a spiritual coach. In October, I will go away with a pastor’s cohort group of which I am a part. I will also travel and visit a few friends who are in the ministry in other places.  

However, I also need to rest. We actually need to rest. God says so. We need time in our schedules to sit back and look at what God has done and is doing in our lives and all around us. We need space to rest in and enjoy his provision and majesty and to be reminded that our identity is not as producers but as sons and daughters. I need to be reminded that all I have is from him. My body and my mind need that time.  

I approach this time with excitement but also with some trepidation. I have plans for rest, but I also have lots of other plans. And you know what they say about our best laid plans… 

I know God wants to meet me in this time. I know that he wants me to rest in him and enjoy all of his gifts. I know that he will teach me new things, remind me of other things, and show me challenging places of work that needs done in my life. I want to hold my plans lightly and allow the space for God to interrupt my plans, teach, move, and lead me to the places he wants for me. Most of all, for rest.  

I am praying for you and ask that you also pray for me. Pray for our staff. Sabbath rest is a crucial rhythm for the spiritual life in Jesus. I encourage you to consider what it looks like to adopt sabbath… to step back, rest, reflect, enjoy, and join God at his throne. You need it. I look forward to sharing with you about my time away when I return in a couple months! 

Rest well! 

Nathan 

Nathan Hinkle

Lead Pastor

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