佩珀代因大学 received a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant of $1,250,000 to participate in its 引人注目的说教 Initiative to cultivate practices among aspiring and active preachers that can help them proclaim the gospel to diverse audiences in engaging and effective ways.

Lilly Endowment has received reports from pastors and church leaders about significant challenges facing preachers. They note that the COVID-19 pandemic required many preachers to learn new preaching practices for proclaiming the gospel through digital technologies and social media. At the same time, preachers report increasing difficulty in preaching to communities divided by political and cultural polarizations.

当前的现实提出了以下问题：

• How can preachers communicate about God and faith in ways that are more compelling for contemporary hearers?
• 传教士如何更有效地激励那些坐在教堂长椅上的人？
• 他们如何接触到不去教堂做礼拜的人，这些听众在哪里？
• 讲道如何能邀请那些听了福音的人自己传讲福音信息？
• How is compelling preaching best cultivated and supported among aspiring and active preachers?

Directed by Mike Cope, Pepperdine's 引人注目的说教 Initiative responds to guiding questions of the Lilly Endowment grant in theologically informed and contextually appropriate ways for both aspiring preachers and current ministers in Churches of Christ. 此外，它还试图解决许多传教士所经历的孤立问题。 面对面和虚拟的分享想法都是不可或缺的体验。

Participants launch the one-year experience with a 3-day-2-night gathering on the West Coast, bonding together with their new preaching cohorts, meeting their coaches, and learning more about the content, crafting, and delivery of Christian sermons.

Participants then meet monthly in virtual small group and have the chance to develop friendships and become a collaborative learning community. There are occasional plenary gatherings online; in 2025, those sessions were led by Mike Cope, Tom Long, and Anna Carter Florence.

参加者不收取任何费用。 Their only financial commitment is travel to the conference location.

2026年班的申请现已开放。