Academy of Preachers, Festivals, and Moving Forward
In late 2019, the Academy of Preachers moved to Belmont University to begin a new chapter. No one could have foreseen our two years of COVID related pandemic experiences and the ways those experiences have transformed almost every element of life. It has been especially challenging to hold large group activities like our festivals.
We held an online festival in the fall of 2020 which went very well with nearly forty young preachers and we held a masked, in-person festival in the fall 2021 at Morehouse College with a little more than twenty young preachers. We hoped to hold an in-person event at Belmont this spring, but, sadly, needed to postpone the event due to low registrations. A little more than a week out we did not have sufficient registrations to hold the event.
We believe inspiring young people in their call of gospel preaching is a good and holy thing. We are committed to continuing to hold festivals, to provide resources, and to encourage young preachers. We believe we will be holding festivals in the future and reestablishing the Academy of Preachers as a place for young preachers to discover their call to gospel preaching. We hope you will join us in the future.
We appreciate your support, your prayers, and your love for preaching as we move forward with the work of the Academy of Preachers!
Recent News
AoP Announces Most Significant Corporate Sponsorship to Date
The Rev. Ernest A. Brooks III, President and CEO of Academy of Preachers (AoP), is pleased to announce that MMBB Financial Services, a non-profit Christian financial services ministry serving churches and faith-based organizations, will serve as a Presenting Sponsor...
The Restorative Life in Preaching Circles – Jessica James Alston
In January 2012, I stepped off the plane, walked through the terminal, out to the curbside waiting area for the hotel shuttle. Kentucky’s winter wind blew harder than I had ever experienced at the time. I can still remember how the snowflakes fell like soft petals of...
Southeast Festival Experience – Richard Hughes
One word comes to mind when I reflect on the experience of the Southeast Regional Festival of Young Preachers held at Wake Forest University School of Divinity: harmony. At its best, harmony is experienced when there are diverse gifts and traditions operating in their...
Max Wilkins, TMS Global President, To Be Plenary Preacher at 2019 National Festival
Max Wilkins, President of TMS Global, will be a Plenary Preacher at the 2019 National Festival of Young Preachers in Atlanta, Georgia. Before serving at TMS Global, he spent 26 years in pastoral ministry in churches in Florida and Hawaii. Register Now for the 2019...
You’re Not Alone: My Festival Story – Tyler Best, AoP ’12
Anxious. Elated. Hesitant. Eager. Preaching can be a wild mix of conflicting emotions as one prepares and delivers a sermon. My sophomore-in-college-self was rarely the timid, reserved person I remember being at my first National Festival of Young Preachers in 2012....
Conversational Preaching Practices – 2018 Master Class with Mike Jackson
Do you ever think that preaching needs to feel more like a conversation? Dr. Mike Jackson thinks so too. Register here for the 2019 National Festival of Young Preachers! Dr. Jackson was a Master Class leader at the 2018 National Festival of Young Preachers, where he...