Reimagining Preaching Program

Engaging Text, Soul, & Culture

 

Innovating the Act of Preaching

Join interest list for 2026 cohort

Preaching for Transformation

These programs will equip preachers, lay leaders, and others to develop their communication skills, give and receive feedback, and support one another in the art and spiritual practice of crafting sermons.

The next cohorts will launch in September 2026. Fill out the Let’s Connect form below to be notified when applications are being accepted.

Questions?

To receive more info on the Reimagining Preaching Cohort Program  or learn how to be a partnering denomination, fill out the “Let’s Connect” form and check “Reimagining Preaching Program.”

Join interest list

Track I: New or Lay Preachers

This program is designed to get more voices into pulpits and to create lay preaching teams that support the sustainability of churches and lessen the load carried by clergy. In Track I, participants will learn and practice the foundational skills needed to craft sermons:

  • Exegetical tools and practices
  • Crafting homilies for your specific context
  • Sermon writing process and sermon structures
  • Strategies for effective communication

Track II: Experienced Preachers/Clergy

Preaching that sparks transformation takes more than delivering a scripted message. In this program, experienced preachers will reimagine what preaching can be. 2026 Cohort Focus Liberated Voices: learn to speak boldly for the work of liberation in your context.

Participants will:

  • Evaluate their speaking context to determine how to deepen trust, supporting an ability to speak boldly when necessary.
  • Discuss their own social privilege and power in order to understand how it impacts their ability to address difficult topics.
  • Learn to apply concepts of liberation theology and prophetic and apostolic preaching to their ministry context.

How the Reimagining Preaching Cohort Works

The Cohorts are open to people in a diversity of denominational traditions, with a focus on equipping mainline congregations.

Format: Live, online instruction with facilitated workshop and small group elements

 

Module I: The Lay/New Preacher Track and the Experienced Preachers/Clergy Track meet separately for 6 weeks in 2-hour learn-and-practice sessions

 

Module II: 8 monthly, 2-hour online combined small groups. In Module 2, experienced and lay preachers are combined into facilitated small groups to practice and refine sermons. In these groups, clergy benefit from the perspectives of laity and lay preachers benefit from the experience of practiced preachers

 

Time: This cohort meets from September 2026 to April 2027

 

Cost: $1200

Individuals from partnering denominational regions are eligible for free or discounted participation. Fill out the “Let’s Connect” form to get more information about how your region can become a partner.

    Which Track Should I Apply To? 

    To be a good fit for the Clergy/Experienced Preacher Track, you must meet any of the three following criteria:

    • Be an ordained clergy member with at least 6 months of experience
    • Have completed seminary-level classes, including at least 1 class in exegesis and 1 class in preaching, and have preached at least 3 sermons in a congregational context
    • Have preached at least 15 sermons in a congregational setting and have a recommendation from your current clergy member or a regional denominational leader 

    To be a good fit for the Lay Preacher/New Preacher Track, you should:

    • Be new-ish to preaching! This track is for you if you are either of the following:
      • Lay person who has never preached before or has preached fewer than 12 sermons in a congregational setting
      • Ordained clergy with less than 6 months experience
    • Have a recommendation from your current clergy member or a regional denominational leader 
    If you are a lay person with extensive preaching experience and/or seminary training in exegesis, you may want to apply to the Clergy/Experience Preacher track.
    Join interest list for 2026 cohort

    Reimagining Preaching Program Partners

    We are thrilled to partner with regional leadership for the Reimagining Preaching Program. Our partners work closely with the program team to help shape its direction, design, and exposure to the church community. Interested in partnering with us? Contact email our Partner Liaison.

    2026 Reimagining Preaching Conference

    Date: May 2nd, 2026

    Learn more here

    Let’s Connect!

    Let us know which program you are interested in and we will email you with more details and when the next offering will get started.

    Upcoming Virtual Summit
    Leading During Polarizing Times
    Register for the Virtual Summit!
    This FREE online event is designed for ministry leaders seeking practical tools, spiritual wisdom, and renewed strength to lead faithfully when your church community faces deep differences.
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    Upcoming Virtual Summit
    Leading During Polarizing Times
    Join the waitlist today!
    This FREE online event is designed for ministry leaders seeking practical tools, spiritual wisdom, and renewed strength to lead faithfully when your church community faces deep differences.
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    Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program.
    Terms / Conditions. By registering for a Resilience or Leaders Circle, you agree to the following (scroll down and click agree)
    Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu
    Time commitment:
    Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting.
    Your feedback is immensely valuable!
    As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use.
    Code of Conduct:
    The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. i. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. ii. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. iii. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. iiii. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. iv. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible.
    Fair Use Policy
    All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
    Agree and Close
    (scroll down and click agree) Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program. Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu Time commitment: Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting. Your feedback is immensely valuable! As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use. 2. Code of Conduct The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. Confidentiality. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. Curiosity. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. Respect differences. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. You are invited to be a whole person, with both thoughts and feelings. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. Presence. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible. 3. Fair Use Policy All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
    Agree and Close