Kevin Stamps has become the 40th person to register for the Festival of Young Preachers. The Festival will be held at St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, January7-9, 2010.
Stamps is pastor of the Sonora United Methodist Church in Sonora, Kentucky. Sonora is about 20 miles of Elizabethtown, right on Interstate 65.
Stamps graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College last spring; he is the first KWC person to register. His preaching mentor for the Festival is KWC campus minister Kent Lewis.
Of the 40 young preachers registered, 1 is in high school, 17 are in college or university, 18 are in seminary or graduate school, and 4 are not in school (either between degrees or finished seminary). Some registered while at one school but have, this fall, begun another; the list elsewhere on this web site has been updated to reflect these changes (insofar as they are known by the Academy staff).
Baptists dominate the registration with 23 young preachers. Presbyterians, Nazarenes and Brethren each have 3 young preachers registered; Methodists, Disciples and Independent Christians have 2 apiece, with Roman Catholic and United Church of Christ each having 1 representative. The sponsoring congregations are located in 13 states: Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida and New York. The 36 young preachers who are enrolled in school come from institutions in the District of Columbia and 10 states including: Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oregon, North Carolina, Texas.
There are 60 more openings available at the Festival and only 25 days remaining to register.