Worksheet for Helping Plan Healthy Furloughs

This worksheet is a companion tool to “How to Help Missionaries Plan Healthy Furloughs” and will guide churches through a simple, collaborative process for assisting in the planning of restorative furloughs. It includes key questions and a template for compiling answers into a plan for the church’s involvement. In this way, churches can provide the support necessary for missionaries to identify and meet their deepest needs during these essential seasons of rest. 

Use this worksheet to guide conversations between church leaders/members and missionaries as you plan a restorative furlough together. Each step corresponds to the process outlined in “How to Help Missionaries Plan Healthy Furloughs” and can be used to create a simple, collaborative re-entry plan.

Step 1: Determine the Church’s Role in Planning

Guiding Question: 

How much outside involvement does the returning missionary want in planning their furlough?

Additional Considerations:

Who will be the primary point of contact from the church?

When will this conversation be initiated? (Ideally several months before the furlough begins)

What expectations (if any) were set for the church’s involvement during the sending process? 

Step 2: Discuss Timing and Duration

Guiding Question:

When will the missionary be on furlough, and for how long?

Additional Considerations:

How is this furlough shaped by personal rhythms?

How is it shaped by the missions organization’s requirements?

How is it shaped by the family’s needs?

How is it shaped by the church’s calendar? 

Step 3: Process Needs and Priorities

Guiding Question:

What are the primary goals and needs for this furlough season?

Additional Considerations:

Is there a sense of “theme” for this furlough? (E.g., rest, reconnection, discernment, healing, fundraising)

Which needs are known now, and which may need to be discerned later?

How should these priorities be reflected on the calendar? (For example, two weeks of “triage” rest upon arrival)

Step 4: Encourage Rest and Boundaries

Guiding Question:

What boundaries are needed for this furlough to be truly restorative?

Additional Considerations:

What limits need to be placed upon expectations from the church, supporters, extended family, the missions organization, or even the missionaries themselves?

What are realistic expectations for speaking and travel? 

What rhythms will help them rest? (E.g., sabbath, retreats, family days, etc.)

Step 5: Identify How the Church Can Support Practically

Guiding Question:

How can the church meet tangible needs and ease logistical burdens?

Additional Considerations:

Use Upstream’s “Checklist to Prepare for Returning Missionaries” to think through logistics like:

• Housing and transportation

• Counseling or debriefing options

• Gift cards or grocery help

• Hospitality and family recreation

• Church re-entry and communication

Step 6: Craft a Re-entry Plan Together

Guiding Question:

How will we put all of this into a simple, shared plan?

Additional Considerations:

When would be most helpful to have this plan finalized?

What are some example plans we can glean from? (See Upstream’s “Examples of Missionary Re-entry Plans”)

Who will take the essential elements from this worksheet and develop them into a one-page re-entry plan for the missionary? 

Step 7: Revisit the Plan and Prepare for Relaunch

Guiding Question:

When and how will we revisit the plan?

Additional Considerations:

What are the church’s rhythms for checking in with the missionaries? 

Who will lead those conversations?

What will the missionaries’ needs be in order to relaunch well, and when during the furlough will this discussion take place? (Ideally several weeks prior to relaunch)

Template for Furlough Planning (Church’s Version)

Missionary Name:

Furlough Duration:

Main Church Contact:

Theme of This Furlough:

Primary Goals for This Furlough

Key Boundaries to Protect Rest

Church’s Commitments

Missionary’s Commitments

Check-In Dates

• Initial Check-In:

• Mid-Furlough Review:

• Pre-Relaunch Conversation:

Notes for Relaunch Preparation

Next Steps

The journey toward sending well happens one step at a time. Here are two ways you can continue moving upstream:

1. Once you have drafted a plan for your church’s involvement during the furlough, see Upstream’s “Examples of Missionary Re-entry Plans” to help you draft the missionary’s version.

2. Check out chapter 15 of The Sending Church Applied for an overview of “Receiving Missionaries During Re-Entry.”