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3 Reasons I Preach in a Series

blue flame bibleI rarely preach one-and-done sermons—very rarely. Come to any service at Saddleback and you’ll catch us either at the beginning, middle or end of a series. Why do I do this?

  • It builds momentum. Momentum matters in ministry. It’s what keeps your church going in the same positive direction. It isn’t easy moving people in a direction they often don’t want to go. In a series each message builds on each other. Your congregation begins to anticipate the next sermon.
  • It creates word-of-mouth advertising. Preaching in a series can be the best advertising you have. Preach on a topic that touches the lives of your congregation, they’ll tell their friends.
  • It saves study time. Every time I preach I study more than I can possibly use. Most of us are like that. Often each sermon could be a series. Plus, it takes less time to study for four sermons on a similar topic than sermons on four different topics.

I always announce a new series on days we expect a lot of visitors, like Easter. It creates a hook that brings many first time visitors back for part two the next week. I think the best length for a series is four to eight weeks. Anything longer than eight weeks causes your congregation to lose interest. They begin to wonder if you know about anything else.

So if you’re not preaching in series, start now. It’ll build momentum, create its own advertising and save you a time.

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