A Clergy Renewal Series Reflection from Rev. Rogelio Martinez

I believe that in the life of the local church, a pastor’s spiritual, emotional, and physical health is deeply intertwined with the church’s well-being. For more than 20 years, my wife, Elizabeth, and children, Josue and Samuel, and I served the local church before even considering a sabbatical. I graduated from seminary in 2009. Currently, I am a Pastor at Iglesia Nueva Vida in Riverside, CA. As a Hispanic pastor, I have walked alongside faithful congregations that love the Lord, celebrate victories, endure trials, and seek to embody the gospel within our Hispanic context.

When the opportunity arose to apply for the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program, our church entered a season of deep biblical and communal reflection. We began to ask a fundamental question: What does it mean to experience holy, restorative, and transformative rest within our specific Hispanic cultural reality?

The sabbatical proposal we created, an uninterrupted four-month renewal period, was born out of a shared longing: to experience renewal and transformation in the peace and joy of the Lord, for the glory of God, the blessing of the pastoral family, and the strengthening of our ministry. During the sabbatical grant application process, both our family and the local church had to understand that this time is neither a pause in commitment nor a standard vacation; it is an intentional, structured act of holy obedience designed to ensure the long-term, holistic health of both pastor and church.

In many Hispanic churches, pastoral ministry is traditionally understood and evaluated through the lens of constant self-sacrifice. We rightly honor values such as full-time devotion, selflessness, and resilience in serving the flock’s needs. Pastors are often expected to be first responders in every crisis, counselors in every affliction, and the organizational anchor for every ministry initiative.

However, this high view of sacrificial service frequently carries an invisible and painful cost among pastors, leaders, and churches. Across our communities, many servants of God silently suffer from severe burnout, physical exhaustion, anxiety, and depression. Taking an extended period of rest often carries an unspoken stigma: it can be misinterpreted as a lack of faith, spiritual weakness, or a diminished commitment to the work of the Lord.

For a Hispanic pastor, I believe that taking a sabbatical rest is a radical act of biblical obedience and cultural stewardship. We must transform the narrative: rest is not an escape from ministry but a divine requirement for sustainable ministry. By caring for our mental, physical, and spiritual health, we show the congregation that we honor God not only through untiring labor but also through responsible stewardship of the temple He has given us. And most importantly, as a Pastor, I was able to show my wife and children how important they are to me and how seriously I take God's calling to the ministry.

Our congregation recognized that 2022 was the right time to engage in this renewal journey. Like many churches, Casa de Oracion de Fullerton faced monumental challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually overnight, a deeply relational, in-person congregation had to transition to a 100% digital church.

At the time, we lacked the technology and digital expertise needed for online ministry. The majority of our members were unaccustomed to virtual services and deeply longed for physical fellowship. The pressure of pastoring remotely, caring for grieving families, and securing unbudgeted audio/video equipment placed an immense burden on pastoral leadership. By God's grace and through the dedicated efforts of key church leaders, we successfully built a trained multimedia team and established a solid online presence. With that stability in place, we recognized that the exhaustion of those harsh months required a season of recovery. The church was ready: lay leadership had matured, the foundations were firm, and it was time for the pastor to take four months of comprehensive rest and renewal.

During the application process, I learned that a truly restorative sabbatical must care for the whole person: spirit, mind, body, and family. The four-month renewal roadmap was built around strategic pillars of restoration:

• Mental Health and Professional Counseling: In our Hispanic community, seeking therapy or professional counseling remains taboo, especially among clergy. To model vulnerability and shatter the silence surrounding depression and burnout, the first month of sabbatical incorporated weekly sessions with a licensed counselor. Demonstrating that a pastor seeks professional guidance normalizes and encourages mental healthcare for the entire congregation.

• Physical Health and Fitness: Years of high-stress pastoral responsibilities often foster a sedentary lifestyle and elevated strain. Working directly with a personal trainer and nutritionist set clear wellness goals and restored the physical stamina required for long-term service.

• Family Rest and Marriage Enrichment: Hispanic pastoral families serve together. My sons, Josue and Samuel, grew up serving on the worship team. Knowing the sobering statistics of ministers' children walking away from faith, we prioritized family rest (a retreat in Big Bear), marriage enrichment (a dedicated marriage retreat and an anniversary trip to London), and quality time visiting parents and siblings in Mexico during this sabbatical. Nurturing the pastoral family protects the primary ministry God has entrusted to us: our home.

• Spiritual Solitude and Academic Horizons: I have learned that the soul of a pastor requires quietness to tune back into the voice of the Good Shepherd. A seven-day silent retreat in Arizona offered dedicated space for prayer, fasting, and reflection away from ministry demands. Furthermore, a 13-day study tour through Turkey and Greece tracing the Journeys of Paul enriches New Testament teaching.

I want to emphasize that a sabbatical is not a standstill where church life stops; it is a catalyst for congregational growth and maturity. When the pastor steps back, lay leaders are challenged to step forward and discover their spiritual gifts and calling in new ways.

At Casa de Oración de Fullerton, our Sabbatical Committee structured a monthly teaching path to guide the congregation during the pastoral absence:

1. January (First Things First): Focused on foundational spiritual habits.

2. February (Disconnecting to Reconnect): Focused on mental health and self-care.

3. March (Renewal): Focused on healthy relational boundaries with Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend's Boundaries.

4. April (Transformation): Focused on developing lasting spiritual habits.

Throughout this period, lay leaders assumed active stewardship across the church. Alicia Orozco led the worship ministry; Patricia Cruz coordinated visitations, mid-week prayer, discipleship groups, and Sunday logistics; while other leaders led prayer vigils, youth ministry, Celebrate Recovery, and community outreach.

By preaching, teaching, and caring for the flock, lay leaders overcame self-doubt, experienced God’s grace working through them, and realized that the church is a living body where every member is essential.

To my fellow pastors, church leaders, and Hispanic congregations: the rest of your pastors matters deeply to the Kingdom of God. Seeking seasons of renewal, counseling, physical health, and family restoration is not a luxury or an act of selfishness; it is a sacred investment in the Church’s present and future.

Through initiatives like the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program, we are reminded that God desires pastors who are whole, healthy, and filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. When a pastor returns from a sabbatical, they do not return to a passive congregation, but to an empowered community that has tested its own wings and walks hand in hand in the holy work of the Gospel.

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Rev. Rogelio Martinez and his wife, Elizabeth, serve as pastors of Iglesia Nueva Vida, a church plant they established together in Riverside, CA. Previously, they had the privilege of pastoring Casa de Oración de Fullerton from 2012-2022. Raised in Mexicali, Mexico, Rogelio’s ministry journey took a defining turn in 1995 when he met Elizabeth in San Diego. Married for 28 years, they have been blessed with two sons, Josue and Samuel, and their grandson, Mateo. Together, they share a deep commitment to building healthy faith communities and exploring God’s creation through global travel. He is a DSF graduate, obtaining his M.Div. from Azusa Pacific University and an MA in Religion from CST. He is currently continuing his advanced theological studies as a Doctor of Ministry candidate at Iliff School of Theology.