Preaching with a Plan: Sermon Strategies for Growing Mature Believers

If you want to develop mature believers in your church, you need a plan.

The spiritual lives of your church members are driven largely by what you choose to preach about on Sunday morning. If your messages are scattered, unrelated to one another, or haphazardly prepared, it can be difficult for people to make connections to aid their spiritual growth.

Preaching with a Plan shows you a step-by-step process on how to develop a cohesive preaching plan to guide your choice of Scripture, topics, and concepts to use in worship services. It answers these critical questions:

Who plans preaching?
Why should I plan my preaching?
What kinds of preaching plans are available?
How do I put together a preaching plan?

Moving quickly from theory to practice, Preaching with a Plan will help you develop an entire year's worth of sermons designed to educate, enrich, and nurture mature believers in your congregation.


"Some preachers preach because it's 11:00 a.m. on Sunday and they have to say something. Others preach because they have something to say. Scott Gibson argues that the Sunday morning sermon can be the most important event in the life of a church, and he describes in detail what it takes for us to make the most of it."--Haddon Robinson, author of Biblical Preaching

"With great wisdom Scott Gibson observes that how and what pastors plan for sermons over the months and years of their ministry is a vital aspect of discipling their congregations. And with equal wisdom, he provides practical thought and pastoral advice for 'discipleship-driven planning for preaching.' This is a wonderful book to reinvigorate pastors who may be tired or discouraged from climbing the weekly mountain of sermon preparation."--Bryan Chapell, president, Covenant Theological Seminary


Scott M. Gibson (DPhil, Oxford) is the Haddon W. Robinson Professor of Preaching and Ministry and director of the Center for Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and one of the founders of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.