A Pastoral Word | May 2025
From Jason Ballard
May 7, 2025
Hi Everyone,
Jason here.
I'm writing today to tell you about an upcoming sabbatical for Chris Price and Jeremy King.
Our Board has thoughtfully extended an invitation to Jeremy and Chris to participate in a 12 week Sabbatical, starting at the end of May and concluding in August. I am proud to be part of a church that prioritizes pastoral health and spiritual vitality.
We have a wonderful board made up of men and women who call The Way Church home. These are spiritually mature individuals who share a variety of personal and professional experience, and serve our congregation by providing oversight to our governance and finances. This means they shape and approve the policy that governs that activity of our church. This year our board developed and approved a Lead Pastor Sabbatical Policy, and this is our first opportunity to utilize it.
A Sabbatical includes rest and refreshment but it is not an extended holiday or bonus vacation time. I think the language in the Lead Pastor Sabbatical Policy describes the goals well:
1. To give our Lead Pastoral Team emotional, mental and physical rest, restoration and renewal in order to nourish their well-being;
2. To contribute to the professional and spiritual growth of our Lead Pastoral Team, so as to benefit their continued ministry;
3. To expect and hope that the renewal and refreshment of our Lead Pastoral Team will permeate, benefit and bless the overall church upon their return.
Our Board views this sabbatical as an investment into our church by investing in those who bring leadership and care to our church. Our desire is that the time and space Chris and Jeremy will receive away from the significant responsibilities they carry leading the church will strengthen them, and as a result will strengthen our church. This is also a way of expressing honour and care for them—to acknowledge the weight of responsibility they carry and the sacrifice required to lead our church in the ways they do.
A natural question to ask is, how will their responsibilities be covered in their absence? We have an amazing team and I have full confidence that we can continue in the work we are doing while Jer and Chris are away from their typical responsibilities.
I will continue to provide pastoral leadership to our staff and congregations.
Jon LeFave has already begun the work of pastoring the North Vancouver congregation and leading the team there.
I will work with The Strathcona pastoral team in a more focussed way until Chris returns.
Jon, Jesse and Sandra are a pastoral resource available to the North Van Community.
Daniel, Elita and Rachel are a pastoral resource for the Strathcona community.
As far as preaching and teaching, we will lean on the other members of our teaching team and welcome a few guest speakers over the summer as well.
Jeremy and Chris, in discernment with the Board and myself have developed their own personal plans for their time away. During their leave they will be largely unreachable by email or the normal forms of communication, but I know they will be thinking about you, praying for you often and missing you every Sunday they are gone.
I also want to note that Jeremy and Chris’ sabbatical is not a response to pastoral burnout, any other health concerns, or spiritual issues that require attention. We thank God for that. This is about long term health and sustainability in ministry, something our Board and staff care very deeply about.
I have uniquely had a front row seat to see the great sacrifice that both Jeremy and Chris (and their families) have made over the past 6 years (the five years since our launch and the 12 months leading up to that). I’m thrilled to see them accept this invitation from the board. I have to admit I'll miss working side by side with them for the next three months. They promised me we could still hang out though :)
Here are some ways we can pray for this:
Let’s pray that God uses this time to do a profound work in their lives: mind, body and spirit.
Let's also pray that God awakens dreams and vision in their hearts for the years to come.
Pray for our team, especially those who get to take on new responsibility in their absence.
Pray for our congregation, that we would continue to experience increased depth and growth as a community.
Practically, Chris’ last Sunday before he goes on sabbatical is May 18. Jeremy’s last Sunday before sabbatical is May 25. If you have any questions or concerns about our Sabbatical leave, you can direct inquiries to myself or The Way Church board.
I write today with deep love and care for our congregation. It's a profound honour to pastor this community and I am full of hope as I look ahead at what God has in store for us. May God move profoundly in our team. May he bring healing to our city. And may His Name be honoured amongst us.
Sincerely,
Jason Ballard
P.S. another question you might be asking—what about you? Are you planning to take a sabbatical? The board and I are in conversations about what it would look like for me to do so in 2026. When the details are confirmed we will communicate that to the congregation as well.