A few weeks ago, two of our emerging leaders in Nelson packed their bags and headed to Buller for a weekend of preaching. It was part of a new initiative we’re trialling in the diocese, called “Preachers on Tour.”
The idea is simple and strategic: help fill preaching gaps when vicars are away, while giving rising leaders real experience in the pulpit.
One of the most common requests we get on the Bishop’s Ministry Team is for preaching cover when a vicar is on leave. Preaching and teaching are core responsibilities of our clergy, and crafting a meaningful, biblically rooted sermon takes time, prayer and practice. When a vicar is away for an extended time, it can be stressful making sure all the Sundays are covered. Many parishes have fantastic lay preachers, but we wanted to help relieve some of that pressure so our vicars can get the rest they need and return refreshed.
That’s how Preachers on Tour was born.
The concept is simple: send up-and-coming communicators out across the diocese to preach in local churches, especially when a vicar is away or lay preachers need a break.
It’s really a win, win, win. Our young leaders get valuable preaching experience, our vicars get a breather, and congregations get to enjoy and encourage the next generation of gospel communicators.
We ran our first trial of the idea in the Parish of Buller, where Rev Matt Watts is currently overseas with his whānau. The parish already has a strong lay preaching team, but they welcomed some backup support from the diocese.
Josh Munro, a Bishopdale College graduate and member of Suter House, and Kimberly Rae, a current student and part of the Kākano mission programme, hit the road for a weekend on the West Coast. They preached at St John’s in Westport and St Peter’s in Granity.
Good communication is such a vital part of leadership. But in the end, you can only learn so much from books or classrooms. These real-life opportunities to “have a go” are essential for discipleship and development.
Fortunately, the Buller congregations seemed to enjoy the weekend as much as the young preachers did.
“We all enjoyed having Kimberly give her message on God’s Word,” said Pauline from Granity. “She presented it in a natural, unforced way that engaged us right from the start and gave us plenty of food for thought about how we see Jesus. We’d be very happy to have her back at St Peter’s!”
Marilyn Wearing from Westport shared a similar sentiment: “As a parish, we were really encouraged by spending time with these young people of faith. We appreciated Josh’s message at both services. It was real, thought-provoking and grounded in Scripture. What he shared was relevant and practical for our everyday lives.”
Afterwards, Kimberly reflected, “It was definitely a blessing and encouragement for us to be there, just as much as it was for them.”
Josh agreed: “It was great, and I felt very blessed to be there. They were so encouraging of my sermon. And the road trip? So fun. We’re just off for a famous West Coast pie before hitting the road home…”
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
A few weeks ago, two of our emerging leaders in Nelson packed their bags and headed to Buller for a weekend of preaching. It was part of a new initiative we’re trialling in the diocese, called “Preachers on Tour.”
The idea is simple and strategic: help fill preaching gaps when vicars are away, while giving rising leaders real experience in the pulpit.
One of the most common requests we get on the Bishop’s Ministry Team is for preaching cover when a vicar is on leave. Preaching and teaching are core responsibilities of our clergy, and crafting a meaningful, biblically rooted sermon takes time, prayer and practice. When a vicar is away for an extended time, it can be stressful making sure all the Sundays are covered. Many parishes have fantastic lay preachers, but we wanted to help relieve some of that pressure so our vicars can get the rest they need and return refreshed.
That’s how Preachers on Tour was born.
The concept is simple: send up-and-coming communicators out across the diocese to preach in local churches, especially when a vicar is away or lay preachers need a break.
It’s really a win, win, win. Our young leaders get valuable preaching experience, our vicars get a breather, and congregations get to enjoy and encourage the next generation of gospel communicators.
We ran our first trial of the idea in the Parish of Buller, where Rev Matt Watts is currently overseas with his whānau. The parish already has a strong lay preaching team, but they welcomed some backup support from the diocese.
Josh Munro, a Bishopdale College graduate and member of Suter House, and Kimberly Rae, a current student and part of the Kākano mission programme, hit the road for a weekend on the West Coast. They preached at St John’s in Westport and St Peter’s in Granity.
Good communication is such a vital part of leadership. But in the end, you can only learn so much from books or classrooms. These real-life opportunities to “have a go” are essential for discipleship and development.
Fortunately, the Buller congregations seemed to enjoy the weekend as much as the young preachers did.
“We all enjoyed having Kimberly give her message on God’s Word,” said Pauline from Granity. “She presented it in a natural, unforced way that engaged us right from the start and gave us plenty of food for thought about how we see Jesus. We’d be very happy to have her back at St Peter’s!”
Marilyn Wearing from Westport shared a similar sentiment: “As a parish, we were really encouraged by spending time with these young people of faith. We appreciated Josh’s message at both services. It was real, thought-provoking and grounded in Scripture. What he shared was relevant and practical for our everyday lives.”
Afterwards, Kimberly reflected, “It was definitely a blessing and encouragement for us to be there, just as much as it was for them.”
Josh agreed: “It was great, and I felt very blessed to be there. They were so encouraging of my sermon. And the road trip? So fun. We’re just off for a famous West Coast pie before hitting the road home…”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
