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The Preaching Should Be All Through the Worship

Safiyah Fosua

(San Diego, Calif., August 7, 2006) -- The Rev. Safiyah Fosua, Director of Invitational Preaching for The General Board of Discipleship, led a session on invitational preaching for the record crowd of more than 600 church leaders gathered for the School of Congregational Development meeting in San Diego.

"If you believe in the words of the rituals (of the church) and teach them to the congregation, then you will be able touse them successfully in worship; they will work for you. The people will understand them and find meaning," Fosua told the group.

"There must be something greater. People come with questions and needs. How do these people hear the gospel message? Are preaching and worship relevant? Preaching is a conversation between the culture and the covenant," she said.

Fosua was one of several presenters leading sessions at the School of Congregational Development, which is sponsored by The General Board of Discipleship and The General Board of Global Ministries, in collaboration with the California-Pacific Annual Conference.

"Let the people walk out with one central message," she challenged the group. Fosua suggested the participants "preach like a laser beam. . . . The preaching should be all through the worship. The hymns, liturgy, and sermon should reiterate a theme," she said.

The School of Congregational Development is designed to assist churches in creating and developing disciple-making faith communities.

The General Board of Discipleship's mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. An agency of the United Methodist Church, The General Board of Discipleship is located at 1908 Grand Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll-free at 877- 899-2780, ext. 7017.

This article was written by Jeanette Pinkston, Media Relations Director for the General Board of Discipleship.

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