Lay Preacher coaching opportunity with FPP
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.
Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel on teaching lay leaders and pastors":
“What they all have in common is a deep, abiding faith in the God who called them… They are all stepping out in faith to follow the way of Jesus through a wilderness of something new – some while still working other jobs full-time, some having recently retired, some already working in the church as musicians and feeling a call to serve as pastors…”
The Faithful Preaching Project aims to help all those stepping out in faith and answering their call by offering numerous formats for preaching cohorts, including those working outside of a clergy setting.
We are really excited about the Lay Preacher Cohort of the Faithful Preaching Project, both because of the great need for lay preachers and because their lifelong commitment to the church speaks to their ongoing faithfulness, which helped to inspire the theme of this project.
Lay Preacher Cohort for 2024-2025
The Lay Preacher Cohort is one year long and designed to allow lay preachers to meet often, exclusively online, so they can receive the benefit of cohort participation while still meeting the needs of their weekly schedule. With this format, we plan to have four different Lay Preacher Cohorts over the grant period, hoping to support as many as eighty lay preachers in their call to preach faith-full sermons. Applications for the Lay Preacher Cohort will be open for two more weeks!
About the facilitator: Jennifer Lord
The Reverend Dr. Jennifer L. Lord is The Dorothy B. Vickery Professor of Homiletics and Liturgical Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Her work focuses on liturgical theology informing preaching, presiding/worship leadership, spirituality, and renewal of Sunday worship practices. Dr. Lord has also been an instructor in the Certificate of Ministry program at Austin Seminary, and looks forward to facilitating this first Lay Preacher Cohort for FPP.
Click here to apply to the Lay Preacher Cohort
The Lay Preacher Cohort application will be open until May 1, 2024, with the cohort announced by June 1, 2024.
Read Rev. Helsel’s full reflection on her opportunity to teach lay leaders in the seminary’s Certificate in Ministry (CIM) program on page 10 of Austin Seminary’s Summer | Fall 2023 Windows publication. Her experience that spring inspired the theme of the Faithful Preaching Project, so a big thank-you goes out to those in the course last spring. The Faithful Preaching Project has similar goals and hopes for the lay preaching aspect of our program.
Clergy Cohort 2024-2026
Update: The applications for the first Clergy Cohort of the Faithful Preaching Project have closed. This cohort will take place over two years, mostly online. We had a very diverse group of applicants—in denomination, location, experience, and age. The cohort will be announced in the next two weeks. We are very excited to begin our work with them this summer!