How We Care Holistically for Pastors.
Pastoral ministry is a calling filled with honor, but it often comes with unseen emotional and spiritual roadblocks that quietly erode joy, clarity, and health. Many pastors wrestle with deep, unspoken struggles: unresolved childhood wounds, insecurity masked by confidence, people-pleasing masked as love, unprocessed grief, and the quiet isolation that comes from always being “on.” Over time, these issues don’t just affect the pastor, they affect the marriage, the children, and the church.
At The Gathering, we care holistically for pastors because we believe true leadership health begins in the soul. Our process doesn’t just address what pastors do; it reaches into the unseen places of who they are. We offer tools, teaching, and a trusted community to help pastors experience lasting wholeness, not just temporary relief.
It begins with self-awareness. Many pastors have never paused to assess how they’re actually doing—emotionally, spiritually, or physically. That’s why our soul care programs begins with diagnostic and assessment tools designed to help each pastor take honest inventory of their inner life. Often, the breakthrough begins the moment a pastor admits, “I didn’t realize how hurt and tired I really was.”
From there, pastors are enrolled in our 12-week Soul Care Training, a live, in-person course designed specifically for ministry leaders (Online Courses Coming Soon). This semester program walks pastors and their spouses through the often overlooked dimensions of leadership health, including:
The pastor’s relationship with God
The pastor’s relationship with their spouse
The pastor’s relationship with their children
The pastor’s relationship with their church
The pastor’s relationship with other pastors
Through biblically sound teaching, personal reflection, and practical soul care tools, participants explore deep issues like burnout, shame, father wounds, emotional numbness, ministry performance, and conflict resolution. Sessions are structured to be highly interactive, blending lectures with group illustrations and vulnerable small group conversations.
One of the most impactful aspects of the semester is the Soul Care Cohort Groups. In groups of 3–4, pastors or pastors’ wives form deep, honest communities that journey together for the entire course. These small groups quickly become a lifeline, places where masks fall and friendships are formed, often for the first time in years. Many pastors testify that the cohort experience has become a turning point not just in their ministry, but in their sense of belonging.
We also provide one-on-one support for deeper needs. Pastors who require personalized attention can access individual counseling, and through our sister organization, Mays Wholistic Health, pastors’ wives who need emotional support can receive play therapy or targeted care.
What sets our approach apart is this: we don’t just train the pastor’s hands; we tend to his heart. We believe leadership flows from identity, not just activity. That’s why every part of our process, from assessments to cohorts to guided prayer, is designed to help pastors lead from wholeness, not performance.
Your soul matters. Your story matters. And your healing is possible.
