Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently facilitated a Twitter poll asking pastors to share how long they spend preparing a sermon. The results show that most pastors take between 10-18 hours to prepare each message. More specifically:
- 70% prep between 10 and 18 hours,
- 15% prep between 7 and 9 hours,
- 10% prep for 6 hours or less, and
- 6% devote 19 hours or more to prepare each message.
So What?
Sermons vary widely in many respects, including:
- length,
- placement within the service, and
- role and importance.
Think of your own congregation.
- How long are most sermons (e.g., 12 minutes)? Do you have any idea how long the preacher spends preparing these messages?
- Where within the service is the sermon placed? What does the placement within the service and length suggest with regard to the role and importance of sermons?