Who’s the best judge of a sermon’s effectiveness?
A homiletics professor?
A fellow minister?
A person in the pew?
A homiletics professor should be able to evaluate things like whether or not you are fair to your text.
A fellow minister will probably listen for the manner in which you present your thoughts.
But, those in the pew can quickly let you know how your words have affected their lives. In my mind, that’s what sermons are supposed to do. We preach to enable people to be more Christ-like in the way they live. And, the person in the pew is in a good position to judge whether that’s happening in his or her case.
Unfortunately, most pastors don’t get all that much feedback from their people. I don’t believe that’s because they aren’t curious about what’s happening. It’s just that they haven’t been trained as to how to go about accessing that information.
Maybe a good way to begin is by just asking people in a message, “Are there specific ways my sermons are affecting your life, and if so, can you let me know what those are?” A similar question could be put to a church member in a private conversation: “Is your life any different as a result of all the sermons you’ve heard me preach, and if so, how?”
It’s great to have people listening to our sermons Sunday after Sunday. Now may be the time for pastors to start soliciting more feedback from them as to the effect of their words.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
