Most of the funding covered on this site pays for a building, a program, or a piece of equipment. The clergy renewal grant is different: it pays for something more fundamental — time. The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Grant funds structured leave for pastors — real weeks away from Sunday prep, hospital visits, and committee meetings — and it's one of the few grant sources in the country built specifically around clergy burnout rather than a facility or a service population.
The National Clergy Renewal Grant, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary, awards $15,000 to $60,000 to Christian congregations in every U.S. state except Indiana, plus Puerto Rico, to fund a pastor's renewal leave. Up to $15,000 of the award can cover interim pastoral coverage and renewal activities for the congregation itself while the pastor is away. It's Christian-only, requires an ordained pastor with an established relationship with the congregation, and runs on an annual cycle with the next Request for Proposals typically published in the fall.
Clergy turnover and exhaustion aren't a new problem, but they're an expensive one for congregations — a pastor who leaves mid-tenure costs a church far more than a clergy renewal grant sabbatical would have, in search costs, lost momentum, and disrupted ministry. Lilly Endowment built the Clergy Renewal Grant on the theory that a genuine, extended break — not a two-week vacation squeezed between Sundays — meaningfully extends a healthy pastor's tenure and, by extension, a congregation's stability. That's a different rationale than most of the grants on this site, which fund a specific deliverable. This one funds prevention.
The clergy renewal grant model recognizes that pastor wellness is congregational health. When a pastor is exhausted, the entire congregation suffers: ministry becomes reactive rather than visionary, lay leadership development stalls, and the pastor's own spiritual life — the foundation of their calling — erodes. A structured clergy renewal grant sabbatical interrupts that cycle. It signals to the pastor that their wellbeing matters, and it gives the congregation a concrete way to invest in long-term pastoral stability without waiting for a crisis to force the conversation.
Award range: $15,000–$60,000 per clergy renewal grant.
Administered by: Christian Theological Seminary, on behalf of Lilly Endowment Inc.
Eligible geography: Christian congregations in all 50 states except Indiana, plus Puerto Rico. (Lilly Endowment funds a separate set of Indiana-specific religion initiatives directly, which is why the state is carved out of the national clergy renewal grant program.)
Eligible faith tradition: Christian congregations only — this is not an interfaith program the way FEMA's security grants are.
Cycle: Annual. The RFP for the following program year is typically published in the fall, with the application and award process running well into the following year.
The pastor's own use of the leave is the core of the clergy renewal grant — travel, study, rest, time with family, a return to a spiritual practice long since crowded out by ministry demands. What makes this program different from a personal vacation fund is the second piece: the congregation side of the budget.
A meaningful share of weak clergy renewal grant applications treat the entire award as the pastor's travel-and-study budget and stop there. That's a mistake, because up to $15,000 of the total clergy renewal grant can be earmarked for the congregation's own needs during the leave — most importantly, interim pastoral leadership, but also renewal-oriented activities for the congregation itself, like a retreat, a guest preaching series, or a lay-leadership development effort that keeps the church healthy while its pastor is away. A proposal that only plans for the pastor's absence, without a funded plan for who fills the pulpit and handles pastoral care in the meantime, reads as unfinished to reviewers — and it leaves the congregation scrambling in practice, regardless of whether the clergy renewal grant gets awarded.
Build both halves of the clergy renewal grant budget from the start: a renewal plan for the pastor with a real itinerary (not "travel and rest," but where, for how long, and toward what purpose), and a coverage plan for the congregation with a named interim arrangement and a rough cost estimate. Reviewers can tell the difference between a proposal that's thought through both sides and one that's an afterthought on the second half.
| Category | Typically Fits | Typically Doesn't Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Travel | Pilgrimage, sabbatical travel tied to a defined renewal purpose, family travel that supports rest | Travel unrelated to any stated renewal theme |
| Study | A course, retreat, or program that feeds the pastor's spiritual or intellectual life | Continuing education required purely for credentialing or denominational compliance |
| Rest | Genuine time away from all pastoral duties, including email and pastoral emergencies | A "sabbatical" where the pastor remains on call or checks in weekly |
| Congregation portion | Interim pulpit supply, pastoral care coverage, a congregational renewal retreat | General operating costs, building repairs, or programs unrelated to the leave |
The through-line reviewers look for is a real, bounded plan with a stated purpose — not a stipend with no structure behind it. A proposal built around "the pastor will use the time to rest and travel" without specifics tends to score lower than one that names a destination, a study focus, or a spiritual practice being renewed.
Research on clergy wellness shows that burnout isn't solved by a single vacation or a weekend retreat. The clergy renewal grant model recognizes this by funding an extended, intentional break — typically three to six months — that allows pastors to step back from the relentless cycle of weekly preaching, crisis pastoral care, and administrative demands. This extended break has measurable effects: pastors who take structured renewal leave report higher job satisfaction, lower stress markers, and greater clarity about their calling. For congregations, the benefit is equally concrete: a pastor who returns from genuine renewal is more engaged, more creative in ministry, and statistically more likely to remain in their role long-term. This is why the clergy renewal grant is framed as an investment in congregational stability, not a personal benefit.
The clergy renewal grant also models healthy boundaries for the entire congregation. When a pastor takes a real sabbatical — not checking email, not available for emergencies — it forces the congregation to develop lay leadership capacity and pastoral resilience that benefits the church long after the pastor returns. Interim pastoral teams, lay-led worship, and congregational care networks all strengthen during a pastor's absence, and those structures often remain in place, making the congregation more resilient overall. This is why reviewers look favorably on clergy renewal grant proposals that include a congregational renewal component: the grant isn't just about the pastor's wellbeing, it's about building a healthier congregation.
The timing of a clergy renewal grant application is as important as the quality of the proposal itself. Most congregations underestimate how far in advance they need to plan. The RFP cycle runs annually, with guidelines typically published in the fall for the following program year. A congregation that waits until the RFP opens to begin internal conversations is already behind. The strongest clergy renewal grant applications come from congregations that have spent months — ideally a full year or more — building consensus among leadership, drafting a detailed renewal itinerary with the pastor, and securing board approval before the formal application window opens. This advance planning demonstrates the "established, trusting relationship" that reviewers explicitly look for. Congregations that rush a clergy renewal grant proposal in the weeks after the RFP drops almost always produce weaker applications than those that have done the groundwork in advance. If your congregation is interested in a clergy renewal grant for a pastor's leave two years from now, start the conversation today.
A strong clergy renewal grant application goes beyond basic eligibility — it demonstrates intentionality, planning, and genuine commitment to both the pastor's wellbeing and the congregation's continuity. The most competitive proposals include a detailed narrative that explains why this pastor, at this moment in their ministry, needs renewal; a specific, month-by-month itinerary for the pastor's leave (not vague language about "rest and travel"); a named interim pastoral leader with a contract or letter of commitment; a budget that allocates funds clearly between the pastor's renewal expenses and the congregation's interim coverage; and evidence of board buy-in through resolutions or meeting minutes. Reviewers are looking for congregations that have done the hard work of internal alignment before they submit. A clergy renewal grant proposal that reads as hastily assembled, even if it checks all the boxes, will score lower than one that shows months of thoughtful preparation. Include specific details: if the pastor will spend six weeks in a spiritual direction program, name the program and its cost. If the congregation will hire an interim pastor, name the person and their fee. If there will be a congregational retreat during the leave, describe its purpose and budget. This level of specificity signals that the proposal is grounded in reality, not wishful thinking.
This isn't a clergy renewal grant to start thinking about the month before you want the pastor to leave. The RFP cycle runs annually, with the following year's proposal guidelines typically published in the fall — congregations serious about applying should plan a full year ahead of the intended leave date. That runway matters because a strong clergy renewal grant application needs more than a good idea: it needs board approval, a drafted interim coverage plan, and enough conversation between the pastor and lay leadership that the "trusting relationship" the program requires is documented, not asserted.
Congregations that wait until the RFP opens to start these conversations are almost always rushing a clergy renewal grant proposal that needed months of groundwork. Start the internal planning conversation as soon as leadership is open to the idea, well before the formal application window — even if that means having the conversation a full cycle before you intend to apply. For general guidance on structuring any grant budget, including one with two distinct spending categories like this clergy renewal grant, see our how to write a church grant budget guide.
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Because the clergy renewal grant is Christian-only and excludes Indiana, some congregations that would otherwise be strong candidates simply aren't eligible for it. If that's your situation, a few other paths are worth checking: many denominational bodies run their own clergy sabbatical or continuing-education funds independent of Lilly Endowment, and some regional judicatories or synods maintain smaller renewal grants with less national competition. See our denominational grants for churches guide for how to find funding specific to your tradition. Congregations weighing a sabbatical against other capital priorities — a security upgrade, a building repair — should also see our grants vs. loans for churches guide for how to sequence competing funding needs realistically. For the full landscape of programs FaithGrants tracks, see our grant programs overview, and read common church grant application mistakes before you draft any proposal, clergy renewal or otherwise. And if the real need isn't a block of weeks away but ongoing peer support or counseling access for your pastor, that's a different funding channel — see our clergy wellness and mental health grants guide for how that money actually reaches pastors.
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