Seminary students to showcase talents in festival

By Maegan Rocio
Staff Writer

Future preachers from Baylor Truett Seminary will have the chance to preach before an assembled pulpit in preparation to lead their future congregations.

The Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching will host a free preaching festival in 109 Truett Seminary, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Truett Seminary.

“The purpose is that it is part of a national event that was inaugurated by Dr. Dwight Moody, who imagined a festival for young preachers,” Joel C. Gregory, professor of preaching at Baylor, said.

Gregory said the festival will feature about 16 student preachers who have signed up to participate in the festival and the evaluators are Truett professors and local ministers from the greater Waco area.

Gregory said the student preachers will also receive a DVD of their sermon for self-evaluation.

Each participant will preach for about 15 minutes.

Participants will choose from four themes to center their sermons on: Preaching Gospel in the City, Doing Justice in the City, Making Home in the City and Finding Hope in the City.
They will also be given several Bible passages to choose from in order to prepare for their sermons.

“Many preachers get little formal evaluation from more experienced preachers,” Gregory said.

Gregory said the public is greatly encouraged to come out and attend the event.

For more information, please contact Kessa Payne at 254-710-6874 or preaching@baylor.edu.