Pentecostal Preachers Week Opens in Springfield, Missouri
Throughout the three-day event, preachers will attend worship sessions and workshops, participate in plenary discussions, and hear sermons from Pentecostal leaders for inspiration and spiritual training.
Some 900 Pentecostal preachers from around the nation are expected to convene at the Central Assembly of God church in Springfield, Missouri, for the 4th annual Pentecostal Preachers Week, on Monday, March 7, 2005. Throughout the three-day event, preachers will attend worship sessions and workshops, participate in plenary discussions, and hear sermons from Pentecostal leaders for inspiration and spiritual training.
According to Juleen Turnage, director of public relations for the Assemblies of God, the most exciting part of the Pentecostal Preachers’ Week is the “opportunity for ministers to come together and learn from each others’ experiences.”
“The workshops and plenary sessions are all focused on helping the ministers become better in the pulpit,” explained Turnage. “Just seeing the ministers come – whether it is for finding help in building a ministerial library or discovering a different preaching style – is a very exciting. It’s great to know that that they come to get help and they leave with the inspiration to do their job better.”
Unlike usual conferences scheduled through the year, the Pentecostal Preachers week is a strictly spiritual and educational experience open to “senior pastors, associate pastors, missionaries, evangelists, seminary and Bible college students, and preachers.”
The line-up of events include study sessions on the sermon preparation process, workshops on “reaching your potential”, help in receiving academic credits, and worship services to “rekindle your passion for preaching.”
“This is strictly educational, and there is no business conducted,” explained Turnage. “This is a conference geared to the proclamation of the bible, and every part of it – the workshops, the plenary sessions, the evening sessions – is geared to handling the pulpit ministry.”
According to the Assemblies of God (A/G) website, the Pentecostal Preachers Week “has become a foremost forum for Pentecostal preaching in the Fellowship.”
“You need to be here; it’s not an option – it’s a necessity!” said Pastor Keith Stagge, Centerville, Ohio, a past attendee.
“I was thoroughly impressed with pastors wanting to seek more of the Holy Spirit ... I would extremely recommend students, as well as anyone interested at all, [to attend], because it allows you to build on a foundation of so many ministers,” said Bryan Parker, Bible college student regarding last year’s event.
While the event, slated to end on Wednesday, is sponsored and organized by the Assemblies of God, it is open to all ministers around the world interested in the Pentecostal tradition and experience.
For more information on the Pentecostal Preachers Week or to find out how to register, visit: http://ag.org/top/ppw2005/index.cfm.
