Ministry leaders pour themselves out for others. They nurture their churches and their larger communities while building up the Kingdom. But who pours into the ministry leaders? Who shepherds the shepherds? That question turned personal for Mike (DMin, 2011) and Lori McDaniel in 2020. With decades of church planting, pastoral ministry, and global missions under their belts, Mike and Lori had witnessed ministry exhaustion and church hurt too many times. Not only were they witnesses; they had partaken of the weariness and pain. They felt the burnout and isolation, the relational wounds, and the emotional exhaustion—common experiences for those who serve the church. Only 22 percent of ministry leaders report excellent spiritual well-being. Their wounds taught Mike and Lori to ache for a healthier way of life and leadership, and that ache birthed The Great Invitation.
Rooted in the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28–30, The Great Invitation provides more than a retreat space or a new ministry model. It calls leaders to live and lead out of grace—to carry the load Jesus gives them and to let go of the load they heave onto their shoulders. The center invites leaders to be before doing, to partake in meaningful, sustainable work rather than just surviving.
Soul care does not stop ministry. It sustains it. It took Mike and Lori a while to realize that, but in 2005, only a few years into the church-planting process for Grace Point Church, the pair knew they were swiftly approaching burnout. They enrolled in the LEAD seminar at DTS for Mike’s DMin degree. To their surprise, they received more than leadership skills. The course was a transformative experience that recalibrated how the couple lived and led. The content for the course, as well as its counsel and guidance, planted the seeds for The Great Invitation. Simultaneously, Mike’s time at DTS fueled his hunger for the truth of God’s Word and deepened his drive to love others well so that the Word and love continue shaping Mike and Lori as they walk alongside other leaders today.
With over thirty-five years of experience spanning more than thirty countries, the McDaniels have witnessed and experienced the cost of ministry done in isolation and out of exhaustion. They pastored the church they planted for twenty-three years. That was their mission. Now, they are on a different mission—coming alongside frontline ministry leaders to offer relational guidance and soul care, inviting leaders to experience the rest and renewal that makes longevity in ministry possible.
Today, The Great Invitation offers multi-day, customized soul care intensives along the shores of Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas. The center also offers one-on-one transformational mentoring and spiritual direction online and in-person, as well as on-site leadership development for churches and sending organizations. The Great Invitation is more than a space for renewal. There, leaders walk alongside other leaders, gifting them the tools for sustainability and mentoring relationships that cultivate deep growth, increase endurance, and healthy leadership habits.
When asked about his time at DTS, Mike mentioned a home-cooked meal he shared with Prof Hendricks, saying, “Prof’s personal touch marked my life and continues to inspire how we care for others today.” Fifteen years removed from that shared meal and his graduation, Mike and Lori extend the same kind of personal care exhibited by Prof Hendricks and other DTS professors to leaders around the world. Kingdom work is sustained by the work God does in you.
Written by Mike and Lori McDaniel
