Nominate a Pastor
Do you know a village or rural pastor who has served faithfully for years and has never had a week of rest? Nominations are accepted from congregations, denominations, and ministry partners.
The Shepherd’s Rest
Programme
Spirit-Led Steward Leadership
“He lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel came back a second time and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.'”
1 Kings 19:5–7 · NIV · The governing story of this programme
The First Story · 1 Kings 19
Elijah and the Angel
Elijah had just won the greatest victory of his prophetic ministry — fire from heaven on Mount Carmel — and within days he was under a bush in the desert, asking God to take his life. Completely depleted. Afraid. Alone. God did not rebuke him or send him back to work. God sent an angel. Bread baked over hot coals. A jar of water. Rest. Then, only when Elijah had been fed twice: the journey is too much for you. The most faithful leaders are sometimes the most depleted. God's first response is not correction. It is care.
“Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
1 Kings 19:7 · NIV
The Second Story · 2 Kings 4
The Shunammite Woman's Room
A woman in Shunem noticed that the prophet Elisha passed through her town regularly. She said to her husband: let us make a small room on the roof — a bed, a table, a chair, a lamp — for him to stay in whenever he comes. No agenda. No expectation of a sermon or a miracle. Just a room prepared for the prophet whenever he needs to stop. The Shepherd's Rest is that room — made ready for the pastor who keeps passing through, whenever he needs to stop.
"Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp, for him to stay in whenever he comes to us."
2 Kings 4:10 · NIV
There are pastors in Kenya — in villages and small towns and rural communities — who have preached faithfully for ten, fifteen, twenty years. They crisscross their communities every week. They bury the dead and marry the young and visit the sick and counsel the struggling and keep the faith of their congregation when the congregation cannot keep its own.
No one has ever given them a week of rest. No one has ever ministered to them. They have never had a sabbatical, never had a holiday, never had a space to be still and hear from God about their own calling rather than everyone else’s. The Shepherd’s Rest exists to give them that.
One to four weeks of residential hosting — accommodation, meals, quiet, structured reflection if wanted, pastoral listening presence, and the specific gift of time with God that the demands of frontline ministry almost never allow. Fully funded scholarships for those who cannot cover costs.
Residential Hosting
Accommodation and meals provided. A quiet place that belongs to no one's agenda.
Guided Reflection
Optional daily reflection prompts, journalling guides, and a curated library.
Pastoral Care
Trained listening presence. Not counselling — simply being heard, perhaps for the first time.
Full Scholarships
No eligible pastor should be unable to come because of cost. The scholarship fund covers all.