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We've Updated our Call Package Guidelines >> LEARN MORE
We've Updated our Call Package Guidelines >> LEARN MORE

WELLBEING
SERVICES

Caring for yourself is good stewardship

Geneva cares for ministry workers as whole people and advocates for their wellbeing. We offer help with pastoral call packages, access to Christian counseling, insight into best practices for sabbaticals, and a wide range of resources so pastors and ministry staff can grow in financial literacy and wellbeing.

Healthy leaders produce
healthy churches

Counseling for Pastors & Ministry Staff

During challenging seasons of ministry and life, ministry leaders can get the support they need. Geneva offers access to a national network of Christian counselors and coaches through our counseling and wellbeing benefit. Affordable, confidential, and easily accessible, we recommend that every church  provide this as a benefit for staff.

Sabbatical Support

Sabbaticals offer pastors and their families invaluable seasons of rest by offering time away from the duties and pressures of ministry. Download our Sabbatical Checklist and White Paper for an overview of how you can plan for and communicate a sabbatical.

Financial Literacy Support

Pastors want to focus on the work of ministry. Yet they are also called to wisely steward the church’s resources, as well as their own. Geneva is here to help, with resources to enhance financial literacy.

Pastoral Compensation Consulting

Pastoral compensation can be confusing. But a well-designed call package is an act of love and care all pastors deserve. Geneva’s Call Package Guidelines and call package consulting services help pastors, session, and treasurers design call packages that maximize the impact of church resources.

Recommended Wellbeing Resources

Geneva is committed to the holistic health of pastors and ministry workers. We recommend these resources if you want to dig deeper into the practices and habirs that bring wellbeing to those who server Christ’s church.

Counseling for PCA Pastors’ Wives

Pastors’ wives are often the most isolated, misunderstood, and underappreciated people in the church. Cherish is a program of the Geneva Relief Fund that makes Christian counseling available to the wife of every PCA pastor.

Get your free eBook on State of PCA Pastors

The challenges of pastoring in the 21st century are significant. How are PCA pastors actually doing—spiritually, maritally, relationally, financially? Are they struggling or thriving? Download this free eBook to learn the concrete practices, conditions, and choices that prevent and promote wellbeing.

FAQ

Why is a sabbatical important?

The pastoral vocation is uniquely challenging. Work like sermon preparation, preaching, teaching, counseling, and day-to-day administrative oversight of the church are difficult and time-consuming enough. But pastors bear the additional burden of being “always on.” They get calls at night and on weekends, and wherever they go, they are seen in their pastoral role. For long-term wellbeing, pastors need occasional seasons away from these all-consuming demands provided by sabbiticals.

How do I sign up for counseling for pastors’ wives (Cherish)?

Signing up for Cherish is easy. Our counseling providers have a list of all ordained PCA teaching elders in their database. Visit genevabenefits.org/cherish, and select the counseling provider of your choice. Once you complete their intake form, one of their counselors will reach out to you to assist you in selecting a counselor and scheduling. Cherish is confidential, so Geneva staff does not receive information of those served through it. If you have challenges in registering, reach out to us at relief@genevabenefits.org.

How do I sign up for counseling for pastors and church staff?

We are currently not accepting new enrollments in our counseling benefit through Full Strength Network.

If I participated in Cherish before, can I participate again?

Yes, you have access to 7 free/subsidized counseling sessions every year. 

How is counseling/coaching more beneficial than peer networks?

Peer cohorts, while vital for pastoral wellbeing, are voluntary and mutual. Periodically, pastors need direction from trained professionals who can ask different questions, name issues with language to aid understanding, and lead them through intentional processes that cultivate personal and professional growth.

Connect with a Geneva
team member

Request a free consultation about what’s
right for you or your church.

Wellbeing Resources

A Work of Gospel Grace and Mercy: Why Draper’s Valley Presbyterian Church Supports the Relief Fund

Today, a significant number of retired ministers and their spouses face financial difficulties. Their ministry positions limited their earning potential which resulted in limited savings. Ordinary expenses like groceries, housing expenses, and medical bills threaten to exhaust the modest funds they possess.

Geneva Benefits Group Launches Innovative Ministerial Wellbeing Sabbatical Matching Program

New Program Will Increase Accessibility to Sabbaticals by Offering Matching Funds of Up to $10,000 for Qualifying PCA Churches and Ministries

Rev. Bill Hughes on retirement, preaching, and the Relief Fund

Rev. Bill Hughes may be officially retired but at age 84, he continues to preach weekly. Every Sunday, he makes the hour-long drive from his home near Jackson, Mississippi to Carthage where he’s serving a small congregation without a pastor.