In our study of 576 highly effective evangelistic churches, preaching was the number one method used in reaching the lost. It is somewhat surprising that in the plethora of church growth literature, rarely is the role of preaching analyzed or discussed. In some of his previous books, C. Peter Wagner asks for more research and discussion on the topic of preaching and church growth. The response to his plea has been minimal.

Few on our research team were surprised that preaching and church growth are related, particularly preaching and conversion growth. The surprise was in the intensity and quantity of the responses. Among all the possible factors that led a church to evangelistic growth, preaching was clearly the most important element. Over 90 percent of the respondents indicated preaching to be a major factor in their churches' evangelistic effectiveness.

Of course most churches have pastors who preach sermons. However, few of these churches, less than four percent by the criteria of this study, are evangelistic churches. What are the characteristics of sermons in evangelistic churches? Are they different in content, context, style, or delivery from the sermons in other churches? Do pastors in evangelistic churches utilize the pulpit for emphases beyond the sermon?

Of all the evangelistic methodologies described by these 576 churches, the topic of the pulpit and preaching required more follow-up than any other issue. We interviewed dozens of pastors, staff persons, and laypersons to determine why preaching was deemed the single most important factor for evangelistic effectiveness. In this five part series, we will examine this primary method of evangelism.

Listening to the Churches

James Greer is pastor of Donahue Baptist Church in PinevilIe, Louisiana, a church with an attendance of approximately two hundred. Pastor Greer believes the preaching ministry is central to the church's evangelistic effectiveness. Most of his messages are expository, though he also preaches topic sermons. But beyond the actual sermons, the pastor believes the ministries of the church, particularly evangelism, "rise and fall on leadership." His leadership is seen especially in the pulpit, whether for a particular emphasis, announcements, or the sermon itself.

Likewise, Houston Roberson, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, says that preaching is central to that church's evangelistic efforts. "If there is no power in the pulpit, there is no power in ministry," he commented. "Power comes from prayer. A praying preacher is mandated by God. If the preacher doesn't pray. . . then the people will not catch the fire."

Pastor Roberson's preaching is expository with an evangelistic thrust. In fact, he stated that every message, whether an explicitly evangelistic message or not, "always contains an evangelistic thrust."

Pastor Roberson's comments are representative of hundreds of pastors to whom we spoke, as well as laypersons in their churches. He mentioned three key elements of preaching that were repeated several times over. In these three areas we thus began to see the power of the pulpit in evangelistic churches, compared to the possible lack of power in other churches.

One key facet of preaching in evangelistic churches is that the sermon is guided by the Bible rather than the nebulous insights of a preacher or other authority. Scripture is the source of authority and power for the messages. The Word of God, they told us, is powerful. Therefore any message should be anchored to the Bible.

The leaders of these churches are, for the most part, conservative evangelicals who hold a high view of Scripture. Ninety percent of the respondents hold a view of Scripture best described as inerrancy.

Such is one characteristic of the preaching in these evangelistic churches. The messages are guided by Scriptures in which the preacher has complete trust. In some ways this perspective of preaching affirms a book written over twenty-five years earlier by Dean Kelley, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing. Kelley, an executive with the National Council of Churches, created a stir with his book. Yet his thesis still holds today. Those churches that maintain a higher view of Scripture are more likely to grow than other churches.

But conservative theology alone cannot explain the power of the pulpit in these evangelistic churches. In fact the word power was used frequently to describe an aspect of preaching dependant upon a high view of Scripture, but extending beyond inerrancy.

If the second characteristic of preaching in evangelistic churches is "power," how do these pastors acquire it? The response to this question will be the topic of a following article: the power of prayer. At this juncture, however, it is necessary for us to speak of the two topics together.

A pastor in Georgia explains: "Seven years ago a small group of women began to pray for me, especially for my preaching ministry. Three or four of them would alternate praying for me in a small room during the worship services." He continues, "Their commitment so impressed me that I began to become a prayer warrior myself. It is unbelievable the difference prayer has made in my ministry, particularly my preaching."

A deacon who has served his church in Tennessee for nearly thirty years made similar comments: "I would not attend any church that does not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. I am as conservative as most anyone I know. But conservative theology alone does hot mean a church is alive." He explains, "I've been around churches where the Pastor believes 'the Word, but his preaching is dead. Cold orthodoxy is almost as bad as liberalism."

Pastors often speak of the power of prayer "anointing" their preaching. In fact, prayer was mentioned. Over five hundred times in our interviews! Laypersons confirmed that they could discern a certain quality of preaching that went beyond style, oratory skills, or even preparation. Descriptive words were used such as anointing, power, Spirit-filled, and blessed. Pastors, whose preaching style was described with these words, explained that their pulpit ministry had been transformed at some point through the power of prayer.

A third frequently mentioned characteristic of preaching in effective evangelistic churches is evangelistic intentionality. J.T. Reed is pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Lompoc, California, a church with an average attendance of 350. He tells us that preaching is primary and that every sermon has some type of evangelistic thrust. Most leaders of these churches affirm that most of their messages have an intentional evangelistic thrust even though most are not purely evangelistic sermons.

As best our research team could discern then, preaching is primary if three key elements are present. The pastors hold a high view of Scripture. Evangelistic intentionality is evident in most of the sermons preached. And something less tangible but no less real, the preaching of' these pastors is anointed by the power of God, power that comes from prayer.