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Center for Pastoral Health

Equipping those who equip the saints

The Center for Pastoral Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of Nazarene pastors in the Southeast Field so they can flourish in ministry.

As part of the Millard Reed School of Theology and Christian Ministry, the Center for Pastoral Health works with Southeast Field district superintendents, pastors and their families to provide assessment in the ordination process. It also offers coaching services and psychological, relational, physical and spiritual formation training and resources.

The center serves pastors and church leaders across the Southeast, both those in the Church of the Nazarene and in the larger body of Christ.

Jay Earles serves as the director for the Center for Pastoral Health. Jay is a clinical health psychologist in South Carolina and a member of the Church of the Nazarene.

Resources

The Center for Pastoral Health offers these resources:

Ministry consultations

For informal and confidential discussion about a pastor’s well-being and sharing of relevant resources, contact Center for Pastoral Health Director Jay Earles.

Equipping for Life and Ministry


Developmental Coaching

Developmental coaching is a thought-provoking and creative process that assists individuals in their personal and professional growth. The cost of coaching is typically $100 to $125 per session. 

While not typically covered by health insurance, coaching for pastors can be financially supported by districts and churches. 

Each of the coaches included on our Coaching Clearinghouse list has been vetted and recommended by the director of the Center for Pastoral Health. They are Christians and most have some affiliation with the Church of the Nazarene. They are also trained at Level 1 or higher by the International Coaching Federation, with specific training and experience in coaching pastors. All coaches provide services via secure online platforms.

Seminars and training

The Center for Pastoral Health can provide the following seminars for pastors and congregations:

  • Flourish in Ministry: Discernment and Acceptance 
  • Cultivating Daily Well-Being: Patterns and Practices
  • Developing Resilience: Challenges and Opportunities 
  • Forming a Pastoral Identity: Called to Authenticity
  • Developing Pastor/Church Alignment: Partners in Ministry
  • Training in Individual and Team Self-Awareness

Ministerial Candidate Workshop

The CPH in conjunction with the leadership of the Church of the Nazarene across the Southeast Field conducts a workshop for district licensed ministers and their spouses.  The overarching goal of the Southeast Field’s Ministerial Candidate Workshop (MCW) is to assist licensed ministers in their preparation for ministry and possible ordination.  As the primary outcome of the weekend, candidates will explore their call to ministry, increase their self-awareness, and gain a deeper understanding of their personal ministry profile.  The candidate’s ministry profile includes insights gleaned from a battery of psychological assessments and personality inventories, the results of a one-on-one consultation with an assessment professional, and participation in a variety of equipping seminars and ministry development opportunities offered during the workshop weekend. The workshop is offered each year in English and at least every other year in Spanish.

Events:

Laborers in the Vineyard

This Trevecca-sponsored program offers mentoring for pastors in the Southeast Field through support of a Lilly Endowment grant. Learn more on the Laborers in the Vineyard web page.

Spiritual Direction

Nazarene Theological Seminary’s Spiritual Formation Initiative (SFI) has developed a list of Spiritual Directors. The spiritual directors included in this directory have been through rigorous training and certification processes, operate under volunteer supervision of another spiritual director(s), and operate from a Wesleyan-Holiness theological lens. This directory was created through the Spiritual Formation Initiative at Nazarene Theological Seminary. For additional questions about contacting a director or about the other projects of the initiative, contact Rev. Michaele LaVigne at Michaele.LaVigne@NTS.edu.

To learn more about SFI, please visit www.nts.edu/sfi.

Pastor's Toolbox

The following links provide resources and tools for pastors to address their personal well-being as well as the flourishing of their congregations.

Organizations dedicated to pastors' wellbeing:

Interpersonal skills:

Pastoral Counseling and Care Resources

Self-care:

Pastor Spouses:

Pastor Transitions:

Sabbatical Resources

Lily Endowment Clergy Renewal Program. It is a grant program in support of renewal leaves for American clergy and churches that provides grants of up to $50,000 to defray sabbatical related costs. Lilly Endowment, an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation, seeks to deepen and enrich the lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes. To this end, National and Indiana Clergy Renewal Programs provide an opportunity for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God’s life-giving waters, for regaining enthusiasm and creativity for ministry.

It is recommended that pastors and board members review the following resources to explain the purpose of sabbatical and view sample sabbatical plans:

Purpose of the Church Planters Assessment

The Church Planters Assessment is uniquely designed to assist licensed or ordained ministers in their preparation for becoming a church planter. Church planter assessments have been occurring in a variety of USA Fields and Districts for at least 20 years. The event includes consultation with a counselor, participation in a variety of equipping seminars and ministry development opportunities.

Attendees to the SE Field Church Planters Assessment have been nominated by their Districts to participate. Their Districts will also have ordained ministers at the event participating as assessors. If you have not been directed by your DS or his representative to register for the SE Field Church Planters Assessment, please contact your District office before registering.  For those who have been instructed to register, your District Superintendent and/or district coordinator, the CPA administrator, Rev Jeremy Reese, or Dr. Jay Earles, Center for Pastoral Health Director, will be in contact with you to make sure that you have the information needed to prepare for the event. Preparation involves completion of a number of psychological assessment inventories and questionnaires – all which you (and your spouse, if married) will complete at a designated event on your District, potentially with other candidates from your district or online. Your district coordinator will be contacting you regarding the assessments. The assessments are fairly straightforward, but may take several hours to complete.

In order to proceed, you’ll need to formally register for the event online at the CPA registration page below. The registration information provides us with some additional details and allows you to submit your registration fee. Our receipt of this registration form and payment allows us to reserve your place at the assessment as well as ensure you have assessment materials prepared for you.  If you are married and your spouse is also a church planting candidate nominated to attend the SE Field CPA, both of you need to complete the online registration and pay the appropriate registration fee.

SE Field CPA 2025 begins on Thursday, July 31 with sign-in and room assignment and concludes by on Saturday, August 2, 2025.