About Us

Grant Haynes has spent nearly thirty years as a support-based missionary — raising his own financial support year after year, serving among unreached people groups in some of the most demanding ministry environments imaginable, and doing all of it while raising a family on the field.

He and his wife served for fourteen years in Oaxaca, Mexico, where all three of their children were born. For the past sixteen years, Grant has been serving among refugees in Clarkston, Georgia — one of the most ethnically diverse square miles in America — through Global Frontier Missions, the organization he founded.

He knows what it costs to be in ministry. He knows the weight of raising support, the exhaustion of serving people whose needs never stop, and the quiet guilt that comes with trying to justify taking a real break. He has felt every one of those things personally — and that is precisely why he started Ministry Vacations.

Having to raise my own financial support for thirty years, combined with all of the stress of being on the mission field serving among unreached people groups, has made me passionate about people in ministry relaxing and getting refueled so that they can continue pouring themselves out for others. You cannot give what you do not have. Rest is not a luxury — it is how you stay in the game.

— Grant Haynes, Founder, Ministry Vacations

Why MinistryVacations.org Exists

The research is sobering. A 2025 Barna Group study found that 24 percent of pastors seriously considered leaving full-time ministry in the past year. The Fuller Institute estimates that over 1,500 pastors leave ministry every month due to burnout. And 85 percent of pastors have never taken a sabbatical — the single most preventable cause of long-term ministry collapse.

Grant started Ministry Vacations because someone needed to make it easy, affordable, and guilt-free for ministry leaders to take the rest they desperately need. As a credentialed travel advisor hosted through Outside Agents — the largest host agency in the United States — he brings preferred supplier pricing, professional booking systems, and industry relationships to every trip he plans.

But more than that, he brings thirty years of knowing what it means to live on support, serve sacrificially, and still try to be a present spouse and parent. When Grant plans your trip, he is not processing a transaction. He is investing in your longevity.

What We Plan

MinistryVacations.org handles sabbatical journeys, Holy Land and biblical heritage tours, family vacations, anniversary and couples retreats, cruise packages, missionary furlough travel, church staff retreats, and denominational conference logistics.

Every booking receives personal attention from Grant directly — no automated systems, no call centers, and no one who does not know your name. We work hard to find the best available pricing through our preferred supplier relationships, and we are always transparent about costs. There are no hidden fees and no pressure.

The Gratitude Giving Program

Here is what makes MinistryVacations.org different from every other travel agency you could book through.

On every completed trip, we donate a portion of our earned commission back to your church, your missions organization, or a nonprofit of your choosing — as a genuine thank-you for trusting us with your travel. No extra cost to you. No forms to fill out. Just a real gift from us to the ministry you serve.

Because if your travel booking can also bless your church or send resources to the mission field — it should.

Find out exactly how the Gratitude Giving Program works, who qualifies as a recipient, and how much we give back based on your booking.

You Have Earned Your Rest

There is a verse Grant has returned to throughout thirty years of ministry — one that shaped the theology behind this entire agency.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

— Matthew 11:28

Jesus did not say rest was for people who had finished their work. He offered it to people in the middle of it — to the weary, the burdened, the ones still showing up. That is you. And you do not have to earn it.

MinistryVacations.org exists to help you take it — with no guilt, no stress, and no detail left unhandled. Grant will personally take care of every piece of your trip so that when you arrive at your destination, your only job is to breathe.

There is no obligation and no pressure. Just a real conversation with someone who understands your world and wants to help you rest well so you can serve long.

Reach out today and let us start planning the trip you have been putting off.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." — Matthew 11:28