Eager to take your EcoPreaching to the next level? As one component of our collaborative project, “Compelling Preaching for a Climate-Changed World,” Lexington Theological Seminary, The BTS Center, and Creation Justice Ministries invite preachers to apply to be part of a six-month Sermon Coaching Group starting in January 2026. Led by an expert homiletics coach, each group will offer deep listening and thoughtful feedback on members’ eco-sermons in Zoom gatherings.
Each participant will:
- Attend six monthly 90-minute meetings on Zoom for relationship-building, sermon feedback, and theological reflection
- Craft and preach an ecologically focused sermon, recording it for the group to watch prior to the scheduled feedback circle for that sermon
- View the recorded sermons of group members and give thoughtful feedback in the Zoom gatherings
- Participate in a group exit interview with a member of the research team to debrief and discuss the experience
Information and Logistics
Application Deadline: DUE October 31, 2025. If accepted, payment is due by November 14, 2025.
Program Fee: $200 (Scholarships are available!)
Program Dates: The first meeting will be in January 2026. If your application is accepted, you will be contacted by your Sermon Coach about the specific date and time. Groups will choose their future meeting days and times at the first gathering.
How is this program different from the EcoPreacher Cohort?The EcoPreacher Cohort is a monthly online gathering that runs from September to June consisting of guest speakers, Kinship Circles, and general themes for preaching about environmental and climate change issues.
The EcoPreacher Sermon Coaching Group is a monthly online gathering of preachers that runs from January to June consisting of small groups of preachers sharing their eco-sermons for personalized feedback guided by a trained homiletician.
Is it possible to do the EcoPreacher Cohort and Sermon Coaching Group at the same time? Yes! If you’re currently in the EcoPreacher Cohort, being in the Sermon Coaching Group will give you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned! However, there’s no expectation that you do both. You may decide to take part in a Sermon Coaching Group this year and then enroll in the EcoPreacher Cohort next year. Or maybe you completed the EcoPreacher Cohort last year and want to deepen your craft by taking part in a Sermon Coaching Group this year. You decide what will work best for you!
Group size is capped at eight participants. Four groups are available. Space is limited, so click the button below to apply today!
Program Fee: $200 (Scholarships are available!)
Program Dates: The first meeting will be in January 2026. If your application is accepted, you will be contacted by your Sermon Coach about the specific date and time. Groups will choose their future meeting days and times at the first gathering.
How is this program different from the EcoPreacher Cohort?The EcoPreacher Cohort is a monthly online gathering that runs from September to June consisting of guest speakers, Kinship Circles, and general themes for preaching about environmental and climate change issues.
The EcoPreacher Sermon Coaching Group is a monthly online gathering of preachers that runs from January to June consisting of small groups of preachers sharing their eco-sermons for personalized feedback guided by a trained homiletician.
Is it possible to do the EcoPreacher Cohort and Sermon Coaching Group at the same time? Yes! If you’re currently in the EcoPreacher Cohort, being in the Sermon Coaching Group will give you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned! However, there’s no expectation that you do both. You may decide to take part in a Sermon Coaching Group this year and then enroll in the EcoPreacher Cohort next year. Or maybe you completed the EcoPreacher Cohort last year and want to deepen your craft by taking part in a Sermon Coaching Group this year. You decide what will work best for you!
Group size is capped at eight participants. Four groups are available. Space is limited, so click the button below to apply today!
Program Partnership
The Sermon Coaching Groups are one component of a larger program, “Compelling Preaching for a Climate-Changed World,” a collaborative project of Lexington Theological Seminary, The BTS Center, and Creation Justice Ministries that is made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
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The mission of Lexington Theological Seminary is to prepare faithful leaders for the church of Jesus Christ and, thus, to strengthen the church’s participation in God’s mission for the world. Lexington Theological Seminary seeks to be a servant of the church preparing men and women for ministry in congregations through innovative instruction, flexible curriculum, congregational experience, and compassionate engagement with the needs of society The Seminary offers an online program that is competency-based, congregation-centered and developmental in its commitment to prepare people for leadership in congregational ministry. As an integral part of the church, the seminary serves the church as a theological resource and as a center of continuing education for clergy and lay leaders.
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Creation Justice Ministries’ mission is to educate, equip and mobilize communions and denominations, congregations, and individuals to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation. Creation Justice Ministries’ membership includes Baptist, Historically Black, Orthodox, Peace, and mainline Protestant traditions. With a particular concern for people who are most vulnerable and marginalized, Creation Justice Ministries provides collaborative opportunities to build ecumenical community, guides people of faith and faith communities towards eco-justice transformations, and raises a collective witness in the public arena echoing Christ's call for just relationships among all of creation.
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With roots dating back to 1814, The BTS Center is a private operating foundation in Portland, Maine, building on the legacy of the former Bangor Theological Seminary. Today The BTS Center seeks to catalyze spiritual imagination, with enduring wisdom, for transformative faith leadership. Guided by the vision of human hearts renewed, justice established, and creation restored, The BTS Center offers theologically grounded programs of continuing education and spiritual / vocational formation, including workshops and retreats, learning cohorts, courses, public conversations, and projects of applied research, all with an intention to cultivate and nurture spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world.
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