GAC09011
April 28, 2009

Pastors in five western synods eligible for Missional Preaching academies

Contact:
Rob Bullock, (502) 569-5101

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – How can my church be more relevant to the people around us? What does it mean to be ‘Missional’? How can my preaching become more inviting? How can I better deliver the gospel message?

These are among the questions that will be tackled in three Academies for Missional Preaching, offered to selected pastors in the five western synods. The Academies are sponsored by the Office of Theology & Worship, and are fully funded by a grant from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), making them free of charge to participating pastors. Applications are being accepted now.

Seventy-six percent of pastors have expressed difficulty in reaching people with the gospel today, according to a 2004 Lily Endowment survey of pastoral leaders.

“This is the highest dissatisfaction among pastoral leaders generally and Presbyterian pastors specifically,” said Teresa Stricklen, associate for worship at the General Assembly Council. “With the Academies, we are offering pastors the opportunity to overcome that dissatisfaction by teaching them the homiletic skills they need to speak the good news of Christ’s gospel to the culture today.”

This is a two-year commitment for five days each year. The groups will meet in the summer of 2009, submit sermons to one another, invited anonymous parishioners, and un-churched people for comment over the Web in the intervening year and then reconvene in the summer of 2010.

“Rarely do preachers get helpful preaching feedback once they leave seminary, and few homiletic continuing education events offer hands-on preaching coaching,” Stricklen said. “This is part of what makes this academy unique.”

Admission will be by application to the Office of Theology and Worship with recommendations from presbytery and/or synod executives. The program is open to ordained PC(USA) pastors in the Alaska-Northwest, Pacific, Southern California and Hawaii, Southwest and Rocky Mountains Synods.

Interested pastors can download registration information online or contact Teresa Stricklen for additional information by e-mail or at (502) 569-5022.