New Initiative and New Look!
The Sharing Faith Initiative is the name of the combined activities of our two grant-funded programs: Faithful Preaching Project and Children’s Sermons by Children.
Now Launching: Children’s Sermons by Children
The Children’s Sermons by Children program begins with a Listening Tour, interviewing children and those who work with them in churches about how they experience God. These interviews will guide the rest of our work.
The ultimate goal of this project is to help churches equip children ages 8-12 to lead the “Time with Children” or “Children’s Sermon” during worship.
In 2026, we will be facilitating cohorts of church leaders to consider together how best to strengthen the participation of children in worship, and how to equip older children to lead Children’s Sermons. Also, look for workshops beginning in Spring 2026 to support those in Children’s Ministry.
Interested in learning more? Fill out our Interest Form and we will be in contact with your congregation about participation:
Faithful Preaching Project: New Lay Cohort Application is Now Live
The first Lay Preacher cohort of Faithful Preaching Project has been a great success, and we are excited to officially open the applications for the second Lay Preacher Cohort which begins in September 2025.
We are looking for lay preachers at small mainline Christian churches to join a 1-year cohort of 15-20 peers. The cohort will meet online with one another and a preaching coach,
with the goal of cultivating more faith-full preaching. Through discussion and sermon sharing, Lay Preachers gain a community of peer-coaches who can encourage and support one another.
Eligibility Requirements for Lay Preacher Cohort
Commissioned and/or licensed by a church or denominational governing body to preach
Currently serving a small congregation (<100 in attendance)
Ability to connect to online learning portal provided by FPP
Applications will close on June 1, 2025. The cohort will be announced by July 1, 2025.
Hear what our current Lay Preacher Cohort has had to say:
“The Faithful Preaching Project has significantly bolstered my confidence as a lay preacher. I am deeply grateful for our community of faith where we can learn from one another and grow together. Hearing the experiences and insights of others has been both inspiring and enriching, providing me with renewed strength and a deeper understanding of my calling.” - Armel Crocker
“It has been enjoyable, and educational to learn how other lay pastors study and prepare their weekly messages. 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. ” - Larry Sear
We look forward to welcoming another set of lay preachers to a FPP Cohort!
Also from Faithful Preaching Project:
Rev. Dr. Lisa Cressman, Founding Steward of Backstory Preaching, will facilitate “Spirituality for Preachers: Preaching is Your Life, Your Life is Preaching” for our next preaching workshop, available in-person and online.
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. with an hour-long lunch break
A few details:
Free to attend
Open to any interested faith-sharers
In-person is on the Austin Seminary campus; online is through Zoom
Lunch is included with the in-person registration
There are two ways to attend:
Dr. Cressman will be on campus at Austin Seminary for the event, held in Wright Hall of the Seminary Library. Attendance is free and lunch will be provided. The in-person capacity is limited to 100 people. Please note, the registration form is limited to one-at-a-time, so please fill out unique forms if you'd like to register more than one person for this preaching workshop.
The workshop is available for interactive online attendance through Zoom. We hope the online experience will mean that even more preachers can benefit from Dr. Cressman's guidance and expertise. Please note, the registration form is limited to one-at-a-time, so please fill out unique forms if you'd like to register more than one person for this workshop.
We look forward to welcoming Dr. Cressman at Austin Seminary and hope you can join us to reinvigorate your faith journey and preaching!