Aaron Damiani, sixth year of church planting, Chicago, Illinois

My first three years of preaching as a church planter were a trial by fire. From the start I had to develop a new capacity to preach on a regular basis. I also had to develop a new courage to preach. I wasn’t under a senior pastor anymore. I was stepping into the pulpit as the one defining our values, vision, and culture. Finally, for three years from 2013 to 2016 our nation and my city of Chicago faced a barrage of controversial cultural and political events that impacted my urban congregation (and thus, to one degree or another, my preaching). The crucible of the pulpit shaped my church planting and vice versa.

1. Be with non-Christians. This tip is from Tim Keller: Find a way to hang out with non-Christians in your area, and then preach as if they were going to show up to the church plant on Sunday. Write the sermon for them. This can help you filter out all the Christianese jargon and preach the Gospel with the concerns of the unchurched on your heart.