What is the Festival of Young Preachers?

The Festival of Young Preachers is a trans-denominational, one-of-a-kind event designed to showcase and encourage young people who aspire to be preachers of the Gospel. The Academy of Preacher’s mission is to identify these young people while cultivating within them the conviction that Gospel preaching is a vocation of great social and spiritual significance and is worthy of their very best.

The Festival of Young Preachers is not a competition. It is a celebration, an inspiration, an occasion of mutual edification and encouragement. Young preachers, ages 14-28, from every Christian tradition (Evangelical, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Roman Catholic) are encouraged to preach at a Festival precisely as they would in their home environment: dress, text, voice, style, substance, whatever! This diversity has proven to be one of the most transformational elements about the gathering. A sample of this broad constituency can be viewed on our YouTube channel where many of the sermon videos are posted; click here to locate the sermon video of those who preached in the 2013 National Festival of Young Preachers.

The 2014 National Festival of Young Preachers will be held at the Sheraton Hotel Downtown in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Christ Church Cathedral across the street from the hotel, January 2-5, 2014.  More information is available on the pages listed in the right hand column (such as schedule, preaching theme and texts, advertising and exhibiting information, and guidelines for preaching); and the link “Festival Registration” will allow you to register for the 2014 National Festival (or for either one of the 2013 Regional Festivals: New York or Texas).

In addition to the National Festival of Young Preachers, the Academy of Preachers offers opportunities for institutions, organizations, and denominations to host Festivals of Young Preachers. A “Festival in a Box” (a toolkit designed to walk you through every aspect of planning such an event) is now available to anyone interested in hosting such as event.  To learn more about hosting a Campus Festival, click here.