1. How many times will the Young Preachers preach at the Festival?
Only once. In October, after all the registrations are in, each young preacher will be assigned to a team of 12 or 13 young preachers. You will receive a packet of information that lists all the members of your team and when you and your team members will preach.
2. What if a Young Preacher does not have a mentor?
You must have a mentor to register for the Festival. An important element of our philosophy is the necessity of a mentor. Every young preacher needs a mentor. Now the question is, where do you get a mentor? A mentor must be a minister who has experience in preaching. It can be a father or grandfather, mother or grandmother, campus minister or professor, pastor or supervisor, or friend. Identify someone you wish to guide and influence you in preaching and approach him/her with your request. Most ministers are honored and readily available. Remember: your mentor must come with you to the Festival.
3. What about housing at the Festival?
In a few days we will post on this web site a list of recommended hotels. Each Young Preacher (and mentor) is responsible for your own housing. It is quite possible that mentors or sponsoring churches will provide funds for the Young Preacher. Consider also calling a congregation in Louisville of your denomination and see if they can provide home accommodations.
4. Can a Young Preacher preach any sermon he/she wishes?
Well, yes and no. First, we are not going to tell any preacher what to preach and what not to preach. This would infer with the spiritual freedom that a preacher has from God. But we do insist that preachers do not use the Festival for a “soapbox” to promote some agenda, especially a social or political agenda. One of the marks of preaching is a sense of occasion. Just as a funeral or an ordination calls for a certain kind of sermon so this ecumenical festival celebrating gospel preaching calls for a certain kind of sermon. All Young Preachers at the Festival will be asked to preach a sermon on one of these four topics: Birth of Jesus, Ministry of Jesus, Death of Jesus, and Resurrection of Jesus. Pretty basic stuff! In addition, we will provide a list of texts for each of these topics to give direction in the preparation of the sermon.
5. How long will the Young Preachers be at the Festival?
All one hundred young preachers will meet on Thursday morning at 11am, January 7, 2009. The preaching begins at 1pm on Thursday afternoon. All young preachers will remain at the Festival through the final assembly, at noon on Saturday. One of the last elements of the Festival is the public induction of these 100 young preachers as the Charter Members of the Academy of Preachers. It is, however, not necessary for all mentors to be present for the entire three days, but only to introduce their young preacher at the appointed time.