Most leaders approach their sabbatical with the best intentions—rest, reconnect with God, return refreshed. But without proper guidance, sabbaticals often become extended vacations that miss their transformative potential.
Sabbatical coaching ensures you don’t just take time off—you enter into a sacred rhythm of rest that fundamentally reshapes how you work, lead, and live. Through spiritual direction, intentional practices, and expert guidance, you’ll discover what it means to truly be at home in the love of God.
Unlike generic sabbatical planning that focuses on logistics, we prepare your soul. Through a strategic withdrawal retreat and personalized prep work, you’ll enter your sabbatical with an open, receptive heart—not a clenched fist trying to control the experience.
Most leaders feel lost after the first week of rest. Our monthly spiritual direction sessions ensure you stay attuned to God’s movement. Chuck Gschwend, with decades of experience in spiritual formation, walks alongside you as you discover what your soul has been trying to tell you.
The real work begins when you return. We help you integrate your sabbatical insights into sustainable life rhythms, ensuring transformation sticks rather than evaporates under pressure.
“I will be forever grateful for Chuck’s spiritual direction to both prepare me for my sabbatical and process what I was experiencing during it. Due to Chuck’s Spirit-led, wise direction, I was guided into a deeply transformative experience of the Father’s love and entered into deeper rest than I’d known before.”
– Jeff Vanderstelt
Founder and Visionary Leader, Soma Church Network
“Having a sabbatical coach was a gift not only during my sabbatical, but in the preparation beforehand and after. The time during sabbatical to have a guide that prayed with and encouraged me to be attentive to God’s movement and voice was invaluable.”
– Melissa Miller
Director of Women’s Ministry, Dallas, Texas
“Chuck helped me to slow down and hear the voice of God and connect with him on a very deep and transformational level during my sabbatical. I would highly recommend having a spiritual director while engaging on sabbatical so as not to waste this precious time.”
– Aaron Goodrich
Pastor and Therapist, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Chuck Gschwend serves as Director of Spiritual Formation for The Eden Project. As a trained spiritual director with decades of experience, Chuck specializes in helping leaders move from exhaustion to rest, from performance to presence, from doing to being.
His unique combination of theological training (JD, University of Arkansas; MABS, Dallas Theological Seminary), spiritual formation expertise (Certificate in Spiritual Direction, Gordon-Conwell Seminary), and real-world ministry experience makes him uniquely qualified to guide your sabbatical journey.
More importantly, Chuck has walked this path himself. He knows the resistance, the breakthroughs, and the transformation that awaits those brave enough to truly stop and listen.
Contact Chuck Gschwend directly:
cgschwend@edenteam.org
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