Compelling Preaching
Pepperdine University received a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant of $1,250,000 to participate in its Compelling Preaching Initiative to cultivate practices among aspiring and active preachers that can help them proclaim the gospel to diverse audiences in engaging and effective ways.
Lilly Endowment has received reports from pastors and church leaders about significant challenges facing preachers. They note that the COVID-19 pandemic required many preachers to learn new preaching practices for proclaiming the gospel through digital technologies and social media. At the same time, preachers report increasing difficulty in preaching to communities divided by political and cultural polarizations.
"Throughout my life, I've always learned at a deeper level when I'm in the space of a trusted community, sharing the journey with spiritual friends facing the same doubts, challenges, and questions."—Josh Graves
Compelling Preaching Coach
The current realities raise questions like these:
- How can preachers communicate about God and faith in ways that are more compelling for contemporary hearers?
- How do preachers more effectively inspire those sitting in the pews of congregations?
- How do they reach non-churchgoers, and where are these audiences to be found?
- How might preaching invite those who hear to proclaim the gospel message themselves?
- How is compelling preaching best cultivated and supported among aspiring and active preachers?
Directed by Mike Cope, Pepperdine's Compelling Preaching Initiative responds to guiding questions of the Lilly Endowment grant in theologically informed and contextually appropriate ways for both aspiring preachers and current ministers in Churches of Christ. Additionally, it seeks to address the isolation that many preachers experience. Sharing ideas in person and virtually are integral experiences.
Participants launch the one-year experience with a 3-day-2-night gathering on the West Coast, bonding together with their new preaching cohorts, meeting their coaches, and learning more about the content, crafting, and delivery of Christian sermons.
Participants then meet monthly in virtual small group and have the chance to develop friendships and become a collaborative learning community. There are occasional plenary gatherings online; in 2025, those sessions were led by Mike Cope, Tom Long, and Anna Carter Florence.
There is no fee for participants. Their only financial commitment is travel to the conference location.
Applications for the 2026 Cohort are now open.