A few years ago, I came to a convicting realization: I wanted to (or was it, needed to?) lose a few pounds. So, I started researching diet and exercise programs. Oh boy, was that overwhelming! In short order, I found myself buried by a staggering myriad of options: Intermittent fasting, Paleo, Keto, Atkins, Mediterranean, Weight Watchers, Noom, Vegetarian, Vegan, and the list goes on. As for workout regimens, there are Pilates, CrossFit, HIIT, Peloton, Barre3, Apple Fitness+, rucking, and more. I eventually settled on a successful and sustainable combination of intermittent fasting, increasing my intake of veggies and salads, walking more, and adding some Pilates and tennis into the mix.

Interestingly, I run into a similar problem when it comes to planning my congregation's spiritual and biblical diet. Like shopping at Costco or Super Walmart, there is so little time and so many great options! Think about it: There are 52 Sundays in a year, and yet we have 66 books (in the Protestant canon) to draw from, a total of 1140 pages in my NIV Bible. What is a minister to do!?!

Reviewing my seventeen years of pastoral ministry, it took me three to five years to figure out a workable formula. Thankfully, after a heaping dose of God's grace, some dashes of research, and a sprinkling of trial-and-error throughout, I finally developed a menu that benefitted our church. In what follows, I will lay out six essential dishes. Please feel free to adapt them to your setting.

Take Stock of the Goal of Preaching

It is the better part of wisdom to start by reminding ourselves why we preach: To make disciples (Matt. 28:16-20) who are being shaped into the image of Jesus (Eph. 5:1, Phil. 2:1-11, 2 Cor. 3:18). Heralds are commissioned by God, to, just like the Apostle Peter, "feed my sheep" (John 21:15-19). Thus, we preach and teach to provide spiritual nourishment that will nudge our congregants toward fulfilling God's aims for them.

To fail to grasp this is to lose the plot and imperil the people God has entrusted into our care. Let's pretend the local church is like a restaurant for a moment. In our market-driven, competitive economy, it's easy to focus on advertising and hyping our brand, counting clicks and foot traffic, obsessing over the décor, vibe, layout, music playlist, and fashion choices of the waitstaff, and forget the purpose of a restaurant: To serve high-quality, nutritious, and delicious food. Let's make every effort to keep the main thing, the main thing.

Choose a Menu (e.g., plan or template)

This is where I struggled the most, as I do not serve in a liturgical church with a lectionary, and our church does not have a history of spending months (or years) thoroughly examining one book of the Bible, like Exodus or Romans.

Additionally, my church is unique in being very transitory: one-third to one-half of the congregants are active-duty military families, who typically attend six months to two years before they receive new orders and have to make a permanent change of station (aka PCS). I discovered I could not ignore that dynamic regarding scheduling and administration.

I bumbled along in my sermon planning until I came across the book Can We Do That?[i] In chapter 20, the authors present a "preaching calendar" model that I found useful and have since adopted and modified.

Essentially, it divides the calendar into four segments: January to Easter, Easter to Summer (the end of June), Summer (July-August), and the Fall-Winter (September-December). At the beginning of a new year, people are ready for change—to be challenged to grow. Consequently, I will set the tone by doing a "strategic series" relating to the church's mission or our annual theme (more on that below). Here's a sample of recent examples:

• 2016 Series: “#riseabove”—Isaiah 40
• 2017 Annual Theme: "Year of Care"—started with a four-part series on "Heart Care, Body Care, Work Care, Financial Care."
• 2018 Series: "The Spirit-led Community" (We were preparing to launch a new campus)—Acts 1-4.
• 2019 Annual Theme: "Reflect & Refine" (We were recovering from a failed campus venture)—Zephaniah 3:17: "5 Promises"
• 2022 Annual Theme: "Restoring Joy" (We were seeking to counteract the effects of the pandemic)—various OT & NT passages on joy
• 2023 Annual Theme: "Reach Out" ("Let's come back to church, everyone!")—"Sow Some Seeds": studying Jesus's parables on harvesting
• 2024 Annual Theme: "Friends Bearing Fruit"—John 15-17

After the opening sermon series, I will often do a short, two-to-four-week sermon series on the Great Commission, encouraging our parishioners to invite their unchurched co-workers, friends, family, and neighbors, to come to church for our Easter services, as studies show that a high number of people are most receptive to attending church services during Easter and Christmas.

At Easter, we move into our second segment. We preach a simple gospel message on the Cross and resurrection and ask for a response. Afterward, we do a resurrection-themed series to keep the unchurched people interested and hooked for April and May.

Then comes the dreaded doldrum season: summer. Many of our military members relocate, and our locals go on vacation between Memorial Day and Labor Day (It makes sense since Newport, Rhode Island, is a popular tourist destination, so locals like to escape during the summer.). Attendance bottoms out at the end of June and the beginning of July (around Independence Day). As a result, we deprogram the church and plan a church-wide "no-fly zone," doing bare-minimum programming for the two weeks surrounding July 4 so everyone can wind down and rest. I usually take my vacation during this time and get a guest speaker to cover a few Sundays.

However, the church reboots around mid-July as we prepare for our sports-themed VBS outreach. Concurrently, I will preach on spiritual gifts to "mobilize the troops."

The fourth and final season is Fall-Winter, which starts around Labor Day and goes through Christmas. As children return to school, everyone regathers and shifts back into a learning posture. Our church will do one or two sermon series geared toward regrouping and educating our people before we enter Advent. To concretize this, here are some select examples:

• 2014 Fall Series: "Activate: Faith in Action." James, 9 weeks, September 7–November 2.
• 2015 Fall Series: "Teach us to Pray: The Lord's Prayer." Matt. 6:9-14, 9 weeks, Sept. 6–November 8.
• 2017 Fall Series: "7 Letters." Revelation 1-3, 8 weeks, September 3–October 22.
• 2018 Fall Series: "Forever Friends." 1 Thessalonians, 9 weeks, September 2–October 28.
• 2019 Fall Series: "God is Love." 1 John, 12 weeks, September 1–November 17.
• 2021 Fall Series: "Better Together." Ephesians 4-6, 9 weeks, September 12–November 7.
• 2022 Fall Series: "Jubilee Month." Luke 4, Leviticus 25 (Our church celebrated its 50th anniversary at our current location on September 18), 4 weeks, Sep. 4–25; "Strong: Courage Over Fear." Numbers 10-21, 8 weeks, October 2–November 20.
• 2023 Fall Series: "Seek the Shalom of the City." Jeremiah 29, 5 weeks, Sep. 10-Oct. 8. "Hey Jude: Contending for the Faith." Jude, 5 weeks, October 29–November 6.

To summarize, here is the basic template:

• January to Easter: strategic series and pre-Easter Series
• Easter to June: Resurrection Day is the "Big Hook," we will sometimes do a follow-up series (e.g., a series on relationships ahead of or coordinating with Mother's and Father's Day).
• Summer (July-August): Guest speakers, one-offs (e.g., select Psalms or Proverbs), then a VBS-and-Spiritual-Gifts-themed series.
• Fall-Winter (Labor Day through Christmas): meaty, book-based series before Advent.

Pour Over the Year-Long Calendar and Highlight Key Holidays and Vacations

When I am working on developing my annual preaching plan (usually in the fall before the upcoming year), I examine the forthcoming entire fifty-two-week calendar. I make note of Federal and State holidays, Easter, Christmas, my family's birthdays, the dates of any conferences I want to attend, and our denominational annual meeting. I mark down our anticipated two no-fly zones (late June into early July and after Christmas through New Year's Day). I designate a ten-to-fourteen-day extended vacation inside the no-fly zone.

In addition, I look to allocate "preaching rest periods." After preaching between seven and ten weeks, I need to take two weeks off to recuperate and review the upcoming preaching calendar topics and series.

As for "pulpit supply," I have often developed a preaching team (anywhere from one to five people) from inside the church, whether elders, deacons, or ministry leaders who are interested and will gladly receive coaching and feedback. I will schedule them and confirm their ability to participate. When the team has been thin, I will reach out to some retired pastor friends and ask them to cover the pulpit. On average, I preach around forty-two Sundays a year (between thirty-nine and forty-five).

When it comes to what I choose to preach on, a few elements and variables influence me. First, I pray and ask the Spirit to guide me. I ask, "What does the congregation need to hear right now?"

Second, I will email my elders, staff, and ministry leaders for suggestions. Sometimes, I will hold informal, creative thinking or "blue-sky" meetings to generate topics and ideas.

Third, I review what I have preached in the past three to five years to ensure I am not repeating a book or series. Of course, that process works around the "established" seasons of Holy Week/Easter, our summer Spiritual Gifts Series, and Advent.

Consider Implementing an Annual Theme

In the fall of 2016, our church labeled 2017 the "Year of Care." This was an intentional response to the bruising, divisive 2016 US Presidential Election. After much prayer, reflection, and discussion, our leaders sensed it was the right time to focus our efforts on "letting our actions speak louder than our words" and on "serving our neighbors."

Consequently, we dedicated the first five months of 2017 to serving five non-profits (both faith-based and secular; we chose ones we had existing relationships with and that aligned with our Christian values). We dedicated one month to each organization. We invited them to come and introduce themselves and share their mission during the service. We would then spend a weekend or two serving them, and on the final Sunday of each month, we would present them with a check to express our appreciation and investment in their work.

As you can imagine, the Year of Care was a huge hit! But little did I know, it would lead us to start a habit of giving each calendar year a theme to center our community life and mission efforts. If your church is not doing something like this, I encourage you to contemplate it. Every Sunday does not have to tie directly back to the theme, and the congregation does not have to do it every single year. However, God's Spirit might use it to breathe fresh wind into your preaching and leadership.

Seek to Present a Balanced Menu

Because the population of my city and congregation fluctuates significantly, I work hard to diversify my preaching content (I also readily confess I would get bored spending three years teaching through Genesis). That means every year, I attempt to preach on sections of the Old and New Testaments. Although I tend to prefer the New Testament (I find Greek easier than Hebrew and favor the logic of the Epistles), I cannot escape the fact that roughly two-thirds of the Bible comprises the Old Testament. One cannot truly comprehend nor appreciate Jesus' or Paul's teachings apart from the larger, senior testament in which they are rooted. It calls for a balanced diet.

Further, I also try to mix "book series" with "topical/thematic series." I dislike pitting the two categories against each other; both can be exegetical, applicable, convicting, and inspirational.

Build Margin and Be Flexible

I will never forget the Sunday following 9/11 (September 16, 2001). I was in the second year of seminary, and my pastor at the time—Bryan Wilkerson of Grace Chapel, Lexington, MA—changed his plan and preached a courageous and moving sermon in response to the terrorist attacks and massive loss of life. His message brought great succor and healing to my heart.

Later on, however, I discovered that many pastors failed to grab ahold of that Kairos moment and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to our shaken, terrified communities. How could anyone listen to a sermon not addressing the fallen towers in the room? The good news is often most potent and effective when applied directly to the gaping sores of a broken nation.

Since then, I have learned the cruciality of making space to deal with the unexpected. One of the best things I can do is not over-program the church or overstuff the preaching calendar. After all, we minister to people, and life happens.

When a local event or national catastrophe occurs, I may want to address it from the pulpit. If I don't create enough margin, I am forced to "kill my darling": I must break and reshape my calendar, which has often morphed into my "Holy Grail."

For example, every other year, the Spirit of God prompted me to adjust the preaching schedule due to a significant event like the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, the COVID-19 Pandemic shutting down our state, and the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, to name a few. Time and again, I am grateful God led me to inject the gospel into the swirling zeitgeist and see it settle hearts and minds.

Conclusion

Now more than ever, creating a preaching calendar seems akin to starting a new restaurant and developing a new menu … every year! There is no doubt this calls for our best energies and planning.

However, unlike the latest food truck, breakfast joint, sandwich shop, or ramen pop-up, we have the backing of the most powerful, wise, and resource-intensive investor in history: the triune God. His Spirit will guide us and anoint our preparation and preaching, using them to nourish the people he entrusted to us. With him, we cannot fail.

[i] Andy Stanley and Ed Young. Can We Do That? 24 innovative practices that will change the way you do church. New York: Howard Books, 2002.

Paul A. Hoffman is senior pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island. He is an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is the co-author of 'Preaching to a Divided Nation' and author of 'Reconciling Places: How to Bridge the Chasms in Our Communities.'