By Karen Vance • Enquirer contributor • December 31, 2009

A group of young ministers from Greater Cincinnati and across the country will concentrate on the craft of preaching in the New Year.

Several area ministry students and pastors will participate in the Festival of Young Preachers from Jan. 7 to 9 in Louisville. The event is among the first for the newly established Academy of Young Preachers, a collaboration between St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville and a list of partners that includes Cincinnati Christian University in Price Hill.

“I hope to become a better preacher,” said Baret Fawbush, 23. “God blesses each of us with skills and talents. For me, public speaking isn’t necessarily one of those. Instead, it’s a skill I am learning and refining and working to improve.”
Fawbush recently served as interim pastor at Goshen Christian Church in southern Kenton County. He’s working on his master’s degree at Cincinnati Christian University in Price Hill.
“I really look forward to the preaching sessions,” Fawbush said of the time spent preaching to a smaller group of other young ministers. “I like the idea of knowing what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. This kind of feedback is really important.”

Steven Rhodes, 28, has been the assistant pastor at Wyoming Baptist Church for 3½ years and is finishing his masters of divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.

He became connected to the academy at the recommendation of the church’s senior pastor, Steve Cummins, who went to college with the academy’s founder, Dwight Moody.
“The festival will be a great a laboratory for sermon development,” Rhodes said. “I look forward to hearing some interesting feedback on my preaching, not only for the content, but also for the mannerisms and style of preaching.”
Rhodes will preach a sermon on the passage in which John the Baptist is preparing the way for Jesus (Mark 1:1-8).
And as one of the older “young preachers,” he said he’s also looking forward to sharing his feedback and serving as a mentor to others.

“I think it’s important to network. When you get into a pastoral position where you’re the only pastor at a church, it’s nice to have a person to bounce ideas off of,” he said. “This organization establishes that network for young preachers.”
The festival will also feature well-known speakers on the topic of preaching, including:

Kyle Idleman, preaching associate and teaching minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville.
The Rev. Brad Braxton, formerly of Riverside Church in New York City.

Stephanie Paulsell, professor of ministry studies at the Harvard Divinity School.

Patrick Garcia, 22, of Mariemont and also a student at CCU, said he appreciates the opportunity to concentrate on preaching.

“Preaching isn’t the most popular thing in the world or even in the church right now,” he said. “We as a culture have devalued the exposition of God’s word.
“We have so many different programs and environments to enrich young business leaders, doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs, but this is a rare program to enrich and inspire young preachers,” he said.

Alex Williams, 26, from Florence, got his first taste of ministry through an internship at First Church of Christ in Burlington and graduated from CCU in December of 2008.
He’s now living in Louisville and interviewing for pastor’s positions near his wife’s hometown and hopes the festival offers him an opportunity to fine tune his preaching and allow churches to come and see young preachers in action.

“I think there are a lot of cases where more established ministers get to step into the pulpit and some churches are less likely to take a chance on a less experienced minister,” he said.

“But the next generation of preachers needs an opportunity to experience that and grow as preachers. This is a good place for that,” he said.

For more information about the academy, visit www.AcademyofPreachers.net.