Logo for the "Faithful Preaching Project" featuring an open book with a cross, and the organization name beneath in blue and orange text.

Faithful Preaching Project offers opportunities to enhance faith-sharing skills for preachers and congregants.

Faithful Preaching Project (FPP) is designed to help preachers instill deeper faith in their listeners, inspire congregants to share their stories of faith, and empower all to live out their faith more fully in worship and in the community. FPP offers free opportunities for learning, support and coaching that provide tools for faith-full and faith inspiring sermons and messages.

  • Our Cohorts support preachers—both lay and clergy—who serve small congregations (less than 100 members) in the Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma-Arkansas-Louisiana areas.

  • Lay Preacher Cohorts meet twice monthly for a year online, receiving peer-support and sermon coaching.

  • Clergy Cohorts meet one a month online over two years, with additional in-person retreats.

  • Our Workshops are open to all preachers and those interested in deepening their ability to share their faith with others.

What makes Faithful Preaching Project unique?

The goal of the Faithful Preaching Project is to identify what makes sermons faith-full and faith-inspiring, then to coach preachers on how they can infuse their own preaching with those qualities. When I taught lay preachers in our Certificate in Ministry program last spring, I was struck by how the students’ sermons so powerfully demonstrated and communicated a deep faith. My hope is to help more preachers cultivate a preaching life that fosters faith in listeners.
— - Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel, Project Director
Close-up photo of a woman with light skin, blue eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair standing outdoors with a blurred green background.

Upcoming Events with Faithful Preaching Project

FPP offers many opportunities to help preachers—both lay and ordained—deepen their spiritual awareness and refine their preaching. Through reflection, dialogue, and expert-led sessions, our activities foster authentic, courageous, and joyful proclamation. Whether you're new to preaching or a seasoned minister, join us in this journey of faithful and transformative preaching!

Preaching Workshops with specific topics and inspiring facilitators will be offered each semester throughout the duration of the grant. The workshops are free and open to all interested faith-sharers.

Click on each of the events below to learn more.

Preaching Workshops

Lay Preacher Cohorts

The Lay Preacher Cohorts are groups of lay preachers that gather online over a year to cultivate more faith-full preaching. The Lay Preacher Cohorts are entirely online and do not have any geographical constraints within the United States for participation.

Clergy Cohorts

The Clergy Cohort is a group of preachers from small churches who gather online and in-person over two years to cultivate more faith-full preaching.

The Clergy Cohort 2024-2026 has been formed and is in session. A new cohort will be formed in Spring 2026. We will be seeking applicants from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico.

Scenes from Faithful Preaching Project

Group of 16 diverse people outdoors posing for a photo, standing and sitting in front of a stone wall and trees, some wearing name tags, sunny day.
A woman giving a presentation in a conference room with a large screen displaying text. Audience members are seated, listening. The room has brick walls, glass doors, and windows.
Screenshot of a virtual Zoom meeting with 20 participants, including men and women of various ages, some with bookshelves or home offices in the background, and one person with a colorful graphic behind them.
A woman with curly hair and glasses giving a presentation on stage in front of an audience, with her hand raised, in a room with large windows showing trees outside.
Three people sitting at a table in a bright room, engaged in conversation, laughing, with books, drinks, and papers on the table.
A woman and a man are seated at the front of a room, engaging in conversation during a presentation. The audience is seated at tables facing them.
A woman standing in front of a blackboard with the words 'Theology in our Preaching' written on it, gesturing with her hands while speaking.

Participant Testimonies

Being with other lay preachers has significantly boosted my confidence. The community of faith we have built together serves as a tremendous source of strength, encouragement, and inspiration for me.
— Cohort Member
I’m finding the twice monthly meetings on Zoom to be very informative. I have learned things that are helping me to better form my sermons. Though this is a cohort to help with our preaching, we have also talked about some of the problems we face in the smaller churches that most of us pastor.
— Cohort Member
Our cohort has a diversity of preachers representing various ethnicities, sociopolitical backgrounds, and experience levels. It was refreshing to be amongst other working preachers sharing our common goal: continue our unique journeys in faithful preaching.
— Cohort Member
I attended the first workshop and came away with some ideas on how to better prepare for my sermons. The sharing and the teaching were invaluable. I have already signed up for the next workshop.
— Workshop Participant
The workshop deepened my understanding of the connection between body, mind, and message in the act of preaching. I particularly loved the idea of taking a more holistic approach; where the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of preaching work together to convey a powerful, authentic message.
— Workshop Participant
Logo for the "Faithful Preaching Project" featuring an open book with a cross, and the organization name beneath in blue and orange text.

Faithful Preaching Project is an initiative conducted by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Faithful Preaching Project began work in 2024, and then in 2025, it came under the Sharing Faith Initiative along with Children’s Sermons by Children. All of the programs are provided for free.

Faithful Preaching Project is proud to be part of the Compelling Preaching Initiative.