The Gratitude Giving Program is what sets Ministry Vacations apart as a genuine ministry — not just a travel agency that serves the faith community, but one that actively gives back to it with every single booking. When you book your sabbatical trip, mission trip, family vacation, cruise, or Holy Land tour through Grant Haynes, 5% of your booking is given directly to your church, your supported missionary, or a nonprofit organization of your choosing — at no extra cost to you, because that money is already in the price.
This isn’t a gimmick or a marketing campaign. It is a conviction I have carried since my earliest days as a support-based missionary, when I learned firsthand what it means to receive an unexpected gift at exactly the moment it was needed most. The Gratitude Giving Program is my way of making sure that every trip booked through Ministry Vacations becomes an act of generosity that reaches further than the traveler alone.
Rest is part of the calling too
A practical guide to planning time away that actually restores you: where to go, what it costs, and how to come back different.
Every trip you take blesses the ministry you serve or a missionary.
I really believe that one of the main themes throughout the Bible is “blessed to be a blessing to all the nations.” I know that your vacation will bless you with some much-needed rest, but I want it to bless others as well!
Most travel agencies take your booking and send you a confirmation email. At Ministry Vacations, I do something a little different. When you book a trip through me and complete your travel, I give 5% of your booking directly to your church, your missions organization, a missionary, or a nonprofit of your choosing — as a genuine thank-you for trusting me with your trip.
One of the little-known secrets of the travel industry is that commissions are already built into every purchase you make. If you are already booking directly or through another travel advisor, Hilton, Sandals, Carnival, Disney, Viking and other hotels, cruises, and travel providers are already paying out commissions regardless. Let’s put that money to good kingdom and Great Commission use!
No extra cost to you. No forms to fill out. No fundraising campaign. Just a real gift, from me to the ministry you love, because I believe that your vacation should bless more than just you.
And you are not trading anything away to make this happen. You get the same price you would get booking direct or on any of the big travel sites, and the same deals — kids sail free, buy one get one, the free drink package, free Wi-Fi, onboard credit, the Black Friday sale. Those promotions belong to the cruise line and the resort, not to the website you happened to click. Nothing about the gift comes out of your trip.
Who qualifies?
Any of the following organizations qualify as a Gratitude Gift recipient:
- Your home church or the church you serve
- A missionary or missionary family you would like to support
- A Christian nonprofit or para-church organization
- A registered 501(c)(3) serving in the name of Christ
- A local outreach, food ministry, or community organization with nonprofit status
- Global Frontier Missions or another organization that works with the unreached
I grew up watching people give sacrificially to keep missionaries on the field — including my own family. I know what a gift means when it arrives unexpectedly, when the budget is tight, and when you weren’t sure how you were going to make it through the month. The Gratitude Giving Program is my small way of keeping that spirit alive. Every trip I book is an opportunity to do something that matters beyond the travel itself. I hope it blesses your ministry in ways you didn’t see coming.
Why this exists
I have spent nearly thirty years as a support-based missionary. I know what it means to depend on the generosity of others to stay on the field, and what it costs — financially, emotionally and spiritually — to sustain a life of ministry.
I started Ministry Vacations to serve the people who serve everyone else. The Gratitude Giving Program is the most tangible expression of that conviction. When a pastor books a trip through Ministry Vacations, I do not just want that pastor to come home rested. I want the pastor’s church to feel it too.
Travel and generosity are not opposites. At Ministry Vacations, they go together every single time.
How it works
- Step 1 — book your trip Contact Grant and describe the trip you’re dreaming about. Whether it’s a sabbatical journey, a family cruise, an anniversary getaway, or a Holy Land tour, I handle every detail from start to finish.
- Step 2 — travel and rest Go. Unplug. Let yourself actually rest. That’s the whole point. I’ve already handled everything so you don’t have to think about logistics while you’re supposed to be on vacation.
- Step 3 — designate your recipient When you book, simply let me know where you’d like your Gratitude Gift to go. Your home church. A missionary you support. A Christian nonprofit doing work you believe in. Any registered church or 501(c)(3) organization qualifies.
- Step 4 — I give on your behalf After your travel is completed and my commission is received from the cruise line or resort — typically 30 to 60 days after your return — I issue a check or direct gift to your designated cause. You’ll receive a confirmation so you know it happened.
That’s it. Your trip. Your rest. Their blessing...
How much is the Gratitude Gift?
The gift amount is tied to the value of your booking. Here’s how it works:
| Bookings under $2,000 | 5% of booking |
| Bookings $2,000–$4,999 | $100–$250 gift |
| Bookings $5,000–$9,999 | $250–$500 gift |
| Bookings $10,000–$19,999 | $500–$1,000 gift |
| Bookings $20,000+ | $1,000+ (custom arrangement) |
These are the standard gift amounts. On group bookings — church staff retreats, Holy Land tour groups, mission team travel — I’m happy to discuss a customized giving arrangement that reflects the size and significance of the booking.
Is it a donation? Is it tax-deductible?
No on both counts, and the reason is the same each time: you never paid it. A charitable deduction requires a gift made out of your own money, and this money was never in your hands to give. There is nothing here for you to deduct.
On the receiving end, your church or nonprofit is receiving a payment from a business, not a contribution from you. It should not appear on your annual giving statement.
I am not a tax advisor or a CPA, none of the above is tax advice, and how your church records the payment should be confirmed by a CPA who understands ministry finances.
What if your vacation could bless more than just you?
What the Bible says about generosity
Giving is not an add-on to the Christian life; it runs through the whole of Scripture. Paul does not tell the Corinthians to give until it hurts. He tells them to decide, and then to enjoy it.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The book that shaped my own thinking here more than any other is Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle — the idea that you cannot take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. His ministry keeps a library of free resources on giving if you want to think it through further. The Gratitude Giving Program is that conviction applied to the one line of my budget nobody expects to be generous: travel.
Want to learn more about the kinds of trips that qualify for the Gratitude Giving Program? If you lead a church or raise support, there is a second half to this: what happens when “your people” book — the same gift, multiplied across a congregation or a supporter list. Visit the Ministry Travel Planning or Christian Travel Specialist pages to explore sabbatical planning, mission trip travel, family vacations, and Holy Land tours — every one of them eligible for a Gratitude Gift.
