The Case for Team Sermon Preparation

Team sermon preparation saves you time, reduces your stress, and fosters a deeper community with others.

I was not intrigued when I first heard about team sermon preparation. 

“Team sermon preparation? Sounds awful. I do my own research and writing, thank you very much.” 

I knew about Mark Dever’s pastoral internship in Capitol Hill and how he collaborates with others for his sermon. The pastor who married my wife and I collected a group for team sermon preparation before preaching through the book of Acts. And then there’s that one pastor who shared a group photo online of his sermon prep team. 

Although I had no problem with other pastors doing team sermon preparation, I never saw myself doing it. Since I loved the sermon preparation process and felt like I was excelling at it, on top of being slightly introverted, the idea of doing team sermon preparation seemed not only unproductive but counterproductive. It wasn’t for me. 

However, my perspective changed once my preaching responsibilities grew. There is a massive difference in energy expenditure from preaching once a month versus preaching most Sundays. Preaching weekly can lead to burnout if you have a defective sermon process or if you struggle with procrastination. But even if you start your preparation on Monday and your system for teaching and preaching the Bible is a well-oiled machine, preaching can still make the most godly pastor tired. That’s why Paul speaks about preaching as a “labor” (1 Timothy 5:17).

Based on learning from other pastors, I decided to try working with a team for part of my sermon prep and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the process. So much so that it’s now a part of my weekly rhythm. 

Team sermon preparation saves you time, reduces your stress, and fosters a deeper community with others. It just might be the most productive tweak you make for your time of sermon preparation. 

Why You Wouldn’t Do Team Sermon Preparation 

Still, there are reasons why you might not do it. 

Ignorance: The idea of working on a sermon with others never crossed your mind. 

Introverted: You might be deeply introverted and thrive on the alone time with God in your study, and the thought of incorporating other people appears draining. 

Pride: You wrongly assume nobody else on your staff can help you with the sermon preparation process because you know more about homiletics, theology, and the Bible than anyone else in your church. 

Scarcity Mindset: You are the solo pastor in your church and you would love the idea of team sermon preparation, but nobody can help you. Or at least you think. 

Irregular Preacher: You only preach every once in a while, so it doesn’t seem worthwhile. 

Some of these reasons are understandable, like being an irregular preacher. That’s why team sermon preparation is better suited for those who regularly preach and teach the Bible. But pride and introversion shouldn’t be the reasons holding you back.  

Tips, Pointers, and Encouragement

Let me give you some tips, pointers, and encouragement.¹ 

First, you shouldn’t plagiarize. Don’t ask Alexa, A.I., or someone in your church to write your sermon for you. While you can and should listen to other preachers, don’t go digging for their sermons and claim them as your own. There’s nothing about team sermon preparation that should be done unethically. 

Second, complete 1-2 hours of sermon preparation first before working with a group. Start on your own. If you don’t have a decent grasp of the text before meeting with a group, then you won’t be able to cast your vision for where you plan on going with your sermon, and you won’t be able to handle thoughtful pushback because you haven’t done the study for yourself yet. You should have a decent sense of your big idea, explanations, and applications before meeting with others. Commit to 1-2 hours of alone sermon preparation time before gathering your group. 

Third, work with the same people. You need rhythm and momentum. Getting a new person involved too often breaks both. If possible, work with the same group of people, in the same place, during the same time and day ― every week. Put it on your calendar as a fixed weekly event. 

Fourth, only utilize godly, trusted voices.  Don’t invite an immature believer into your team's sermon preparation process. I’m sure your staff (both full-time and part-time) will feel loved by your invitation, but only invite voices you trust. This is a vulnerable process for both you and the people in your group, and not having trusted, godly voices will exasperate you and eventually, you’ll give up on the process altogether. 

A Personal Example: How I Do Team Sermon Preparation

Here’s how I do it. 

I lead our staff meetings on Tuesday. We meet in the same room at church with the same people. As of this writing, I only invite full-time staff members into my sermon preparation process. As the four of us finish our meeting, I open up Logos, and go to “Notes.” I’ve already copied and pasted the text into Logos the day before and already got a head start on my sermon on Monday. Some staff members have already read or listened to the passage on the way to church that morning. 

I usually ask a variation of two questions: 

1. What are your observations from this passage? 

2. What explanations, illustrations, and applications would be helpful for our church? 

That’s pretty much it. 

It might be ideal to conduct a team sermon preparation meeting as a stand-alone meeting, separate from our staff meeting. But for now, it works well for me to lead both back-to-back. 

I know other teams get more specific and ask about the big idea, Fallen Condition Focus, and other technical homiletical features. If you have a trained staff that knows what those words mean, or if you feel inclined to train others to increase their usefulness for the meeting, then, by all means, do so. For now, I’ve opted for a high-level overview discussion. 

As the leadership adage goes, everyone gets their say, but not their way. Feedback received doesn’t mean it will automatically land in the final draft of my sermon. However, I try to maintain a humble and approachable posture as people are talking while I’m writing down their thoughts.  The last thing you want to do is make people feel silly for suggesting an idea that you disagree with. People who help you with team sermon preparation should feel as if they can say anything and you won’t get defensive or dismissive. Be sure to demonstrate humility and openness throughout the whole process. 

What If I’m a Solo Pastor? 

If you’re a solo pastor, then find 2-3 godly church members and ask them to be a part of your sermon preparation process, and follow the advice above. It’s more work upfront but will save you time in the long haul. If there are scheduling conflicts and you cannot meet in person, consider using Google Docs, Evernote, or Notion for team collaboration. Meeting in person is ideal, but utilizing technology wisely is also helpful. 

Next Steps

If you haven’t tried team sermon preparation, I encourage you to do so. Give it a try. It will save you time, foster community with others, and usually make for a better sermon. There’s an upfront cost involved in gathering a group, but over time you’ll see long-term benefits. 

1. In writing this article, I was helped by 8 Hours or Less (chapter 3). You can read my combination of review and summary of the book in my article How to Write a Faithful Sermon in Eight Hours or Less.