Faithful Preaching Project offers opportunities to enhance faith-sharing skills for preachers and congregants.
Faithful Preaching Project (FPP) is designed to help preachers instill deeper faith in their listeners, inspire congregants to share their stories of faith, and empower all to live out their faith more fully in worship and in the community. FPP offers free opportunities for learning, support and coaching that provide tools for faith-full and faith inspiring sermons and messages.
Our Cohorts support preachers—both lay and clergy—who serve small congregations (less than 100 members) in the Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma-Arkansas-Louisiana areas.
Lay Preacher Cohorts meet twice monthly for a year online, receiving peer-support and sermon coaching.
Clergy Cohorts meet one a month online over two years, with additional in-person retreats.
Our Workshops are open to all preachers and those interested in deepening their ability to share their faith with others.
What makes Faithful Preaching Project unique?
““The goal of the Faithful Preaching Project is to identify what makes sermons faith-full and faith-inspiring, then to coach preachers on how they can infuse their own preaching with those qualities. When I taught lay preachers in our Certificate in Ministry program last spring, I was struck by how the students’ sermons so powerfully demonstrated and communicated a deep faith. My hope is to help more preachers cultivate a preaching life that fosters faith in listeners.””
Upcoming Events with Faithful Preaching Project
The Faithful Preaching Project offers workshops and training to help preachers—both lay and ordained—deepen their spiritual awareness and refine their preaching. Through reflection, dialogue, and expert-led sessions, our events foster authentic, courageous, and joyful proclamation.
Workshops are free and open to the public, with in-person and online options available. Whether you're new to preaching or a seasoned minister, join us in this journey of faithful and transformative preaching!
Preaching Workshop
Preaching Workshops with specific topics and inspiring facilitators will be offered each semester throughout the duration of the grant. The workshops are free and open to all interested faith-sharers, and will be held both in-person in Wright Hall on the seminary campus and online on Zoom.
Lay Preacher Cohorts
The Lay Preacher Cohorts are a group of lay preachers that gather online over a year to cultivate more faith-full preaching. The Lay Preacher Cohorts are entirely online and do not have any geographical constraints within the United States for participation.
Clergy Cohorts
The Clergy Cohorts is a group of preachers from small churches who gather online and in-person over two years to cultivate more faith-full preaching.
The Clergy Cohort 2024-2026 has been formed and is in session. A new cohort will be formed in Spring 2026. We will be seeking applicants from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico.
Scenes from Faithful Preaching Project
Participants Testimonies
“Being with other lay preachers has significantly boosted my confidence. The community of faith we have built together serves as a tremendous source of strength, encouragement, and inspiration for me.”
“I’m finding the twice monthly meetings on Zoom to be very informative. I have learned things that are helping me to better form my sermons. Though this is a cohort to help with our preaching, we have also talked about some of the problems we face in the smaller churches that most of us pastor.”
“Our cohort has a diversity of preachers representing various ethnicities, sociopolitical backgrounds, and experience levels. It was refreshing to be amongst other working preachers sharing our common goal: continue our unique journeys in faithful preaching.”
“I attended the first workshop and came away with some ideas on how to better prepare for my sermons. The sharing and the teaching were invaluable. I have already signed up for the next workshop.”
“The workshop deepened my understanding of the connection between body, mind, and message in the act of preaching. I particularly loved the idea of taking a more holistic approach; where the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of preaching work together to convey a powerful, authentic message.”
Faithful Preaching Project is an initiative conducted by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Faithful Preaching Project began work in 2024, and then in 2025, it came under the Sharing Faith Initiative along with Children’s Sermons by Children. All of the programs are free.
Faithful Preaching Project is proud to be part of the Compelling Preaching Initiative.