Preaching Conference
The Preaching
Conference is offered as an encouragement and challenge to high school young men who are open to the call to preach.
All participants are required to prepare and preach a sermon and to attend the Sermon Construction and Delivery workshops.
This ensures each participant’s active involvement. In addition to the Preaching Conference, participants may enter up to two
Festival individual/solo contests and may compete in group contests.
Highlights
Each participant will benefit from the following:
- Videotaping of his sermon and a special reviewing of the tape with one of the pulpit speech teachers
- Helpful suggestions for his preaching from preacher-professors on the Bible faculty
- A visit to one of the world’s largest ministerial classes
- A free book
Sermon Presentation
Each participant is to prepare an original 10- to 12-minute sermon and submit a detailed outline. The sermon may be designed either for the edification of Christians or for the salvation of the lost. It should not be memorized word for word; a copy of the outline may be taken to the pulpit.
It is highly recommended that each participant preach his sermon at a youth meeting, church service, or school chapel program before arriving on campus. The sermon will be judged on content and delivery.
Sermon Construction and Delivery Workshops
While the preaching opportunities allow the contestants to hone the skills that they already possess, the workshops will offer useful information to help the young men communicate the Word of God even more effectively. The first workshop focuses on sermon construction. The participant will learn how to identify a preaching theme from a passage of Scripture and organize the biblical material into a clear outline. The second workshop focuses on basic delivery skills.
Awards
First-place winner will receive:
- Bible
- Trophy
- Program fee for the two semesters of his freshman year should he enroll at BJU
- Full scholarship to attend a BJU basic summer camp
Second- and third-place winners will receive:
- Bible
- Full scholarship to attend a BJU basic summer camp
A contestant may win first place only once, although he may enter the Preaching Conference another year in order to receive the judges’ critiques.