Greetings from the Faithful Preaching Project
Please note, this post has been re-posted from an earlier blog that was maintained by the Faithful Preaching Project before it became part of the Sharing Faith Initiative. These posts have been re-shared to maintain the full story of the grant initiative.
Hello! Welcome to the new monthly blog from the Faithful Preaching Project, where we’ll be sharing stories, photos, updates, and more.
Just Launched!
Clergy Preaching Cohorts for 2024-2026
Applications for the 2-year cohorts for clergy are now open!
Eligibility Requirements:
Masters of Divinity graduate
Employed at a small congregation (<100 in attendance)
Employed at a church in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, or Arkansas
Ability to connect to online learning portal provided by FPP
Ability to attend four in-person retreats over the next two years
Know someone who might be interested in this program? Forward the information or encourage them to connect with fpp@austinseminary.edu.
Not eligible for this program? That’s okay! Look ahead to our future programs including a preaching workshop in November 2024 and Worship Camp for preachers and lay leaders in Summer 2026!
Lay Preacher Cohort applications will be available in March 2024! This cohort is for people preaching in small congregations, who do not have an MDiv but are otherwise commissioned to preach in their congregations. These cohorts will be one year long and exclusively online. Keep an eye out in our next newsletter for application opportunities.
Thank you to everyone who took our survey!
Pictured from left: FPP Program Coordinator Kelley DeCleene and FPP Project Director Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel
Throughout December and January, we were able to collect 128 online surveys and 101 in-person interviews during the MidWinter Lectures on campus. Our thanks to the students who conducted the interviews and to all who gave their fascinating responses—these will guide our focus for the next five years. We are hard at work organizing and analyzing the data. Stay tuned for insights!
What is the Faithful Preaching Project?
The Faithful Preaching Project is a new initiative, funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., designed to help preachers instill deeper faith in their listeners, as well as empower them to live out their faith more fully in worship and in the community.
We’ll do this through:
Clergy preaching cohorts with online and in-person coaching
Lay-preaching cohorts gathering online for a year
Workshops on campus and online
Worship Camps for developing faith-sharing skills in congregants
Click here to read the seminary’s announcement about the Lilly Grant funding this project. We look forward to sharing more updates with you next month!