A pastor must think through many factors when committing to a sermon series. Consider these six items before you select your next series or annual plan.
- Prioritize Books – We will not create a better series than how God inspired the books of the Bible. Most sermon series will go through books or sections of the Bible in the order provided in the text.Â
- Consider Topics – While prioritizing expository series through books, we will not deny the occasional need for topical series to address pivotal needs within the life of a church. In those series, we will still prioritize exegetical homiletics by allowing the selected text to speak for itself and drawing our applications from it.
- Maintain Balance – To preach God’s whole counsel (Acts 20:27), we will consider the biblical diet presented over the years to ensure we engage all genres and avoid no topic.
- Annual Plan –We will prayerfully and meticulously plan the preaching calendar by early Fall to connect our series with church initiatives. This will allow for intentional alignment with other church emphases.
- Schedule Ordinances – Allowing the text to guide our gatherings, we can better schedule purposeful times for baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
- Intentional Substitutes – Our current goal is for the Lead Pastor to preach approximately 46 times a year, which allows for six weeks with intentional substitutes, including staff, guests, and residents.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
