What Do You Think?

I preach this weekend at a church in Pennsylvania where I’ve spoken several times before. I’m comfortable in that regard because my ministry has always been well-received there.

What’s different this time is that I’m addressing a serious problem they have. It’s one that characterizes tens of thousands of churches across the country. They are good Christian people, but they’re all getting up in years, and the congregation has next to no Millennials (people born between 1980 and 2000). The sad truth is unless they can figure out how to soon attract this younger generation, it’s just a matter of time before the church will die.

What I’m suggesting by way of response could seem radical to them. Fortunately, in preparation for my visit, I’ve run my sermon thoughts past three different small groups, and they have all received what I plan to say as being extremely helpful. So I have a sense that what I’ll be preaching will be received well. That’s in spite of the fact that I know for them to follow my advice will be a big stretch.

Any number of times I have recommended talking through new sermon material with friends or a small group to get a feel for their response and suggestions. That’s in contrast to keeping everything to yourself until the actual preaching date.

When you preach next, will you have received any input from friends or associates before officially delivering your sermon in front of the whole congregation? If not, why not?

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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