Our Story

In 2023, Lilly Endowment Inc. issued a call for proposals for their Compelling Preaching Initiative. The Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel, Associate Professor in the Blair Monie Distinguished Chair of Homiletics, was teaching a course for lay preachers in Austin Seminary’s Certificate in Ministry Program.

Listening to lay preachers who served as the backbone of their congregations for decades, now stepping up into the role of preacher, Dr. Helsel was struck by how deeply their sermons inspired her to deeper faith.

Not only were these lay leaders demonstrating faithfulness to the church by their commitment year in and year out, through pastoral transitions and declining church membership, but they clearly communicated a deep and abiding faith in the God who invites us into a story larger and longer than the lifespan of our congregations.

Those lay preachers’ sermons led Dr. Helsel to wondering: how can we help other preachers instill faith in their listeners? How do listeners describe the sermons that help them to grow in their faith?

Receiving the grant for the Faithful Preaching Project started the process of asking these questions, collecting interviews and surveys, and discussing with groups of clergy and lay preachers how we can better instill faith in ourselves as well as in our listeners.

A large gathering in 2027 will help not only preachers but also other lay people in congregations to feel equipped to share their faith in worship.

The Children’s Sermons by Children project emerged out of similar questions, asking how to help young people share their faith in worship. While attending church on Confirmation Sunday, Dr. Helsel noticed how two of the confirmands led the Children’s Sermon that day. She wondered: what if kids at a younger age were invited to give the Children’s Sermon?

Between ages 8-12, children are already growing into a more mature faith, and it is at this time that they can begin to own their faith. And when young children see the older children sharing stories of the Bible and talking about faith, they may be inspired to become the kids who can share faith when they get to be older as well. The ultimate goal is to raise up the next generation of church leaders.

With the help of a second grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., Dr. Helsel is able to conduct a Listening Tour of churches to hear from children and those who work with them to learn what kinds of questions and experiences with God children are already talking about. Then, in cohorts with senior church leadership and those who work with children, the project will enable churches to experiment with coaching children towards sharing their faith in worship.

To communicate about the work of both projects, we have combined them under the banner of the Sharing Faith Initiative. Stay tuned for more opportunities to enrich your own congregation’s abilities to share faith with others!