As an equipping church, we have in recent memory always provided the occasional
opportunity for people other than the lead pastor to preach. But taking the
desire to equip people for ministry and going even further to embrace community
as a foundational aspect of our church, the Preaching Team was born. We gather
together as a group of people for the purpose of sharpening one another and
equipping one another to teach and preach God’s Word ever more effectively.
Over the years, the Preaching Team has consisted of our pastors, seminary students,
and lay people alike who all share the goal of proclaiming God’s Word correctly
and effectively on Sunday mornings.
At a typical weekly Preaching Team meeting we start with sharing our lives
and praying for one another. We then transition into an evaluation of the previous
week’s sermon: issues of content and delivery, style and faithfulness to
the text and what God is saying in and through it. We close out each meeting
working together on upcoming sermons: presenting our thesis statements and outlines
in the week or two ahead of any given sermon and embracing feedback on them,
and then ultimately having a rough sermon prepared for the Preaching Team to
see at the meeting before a sermon is given to the church. We then lay hands
on and pray for whoever is preaching on the upcoming Sunday.
We believe the Preaching Team is essential and necessary to the teaching ministry
of this church. Having a group of people meeting together committed to God’s
Word provides an essential accountability and even motivation to pursue excellence
in everything that we do.
Our ongoing philosophy of preaching is to teach the whole counsel of God, moving
through both Old Testament book studies as well as New Testament ones. We continue
to insert an occasional topical preaching series, and we enjoy the Advent tradition
of teaching through storytelling.
