Do you have a passion for preaching? Are you called to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ but have no clue on how to be an effective preacher? If yes, please read on, this article might be of help to you.

When l listen to some preachers, l am left in awe of the precision and effectiveness with which they communicate the precious gospel of Jesus Christ. Being a young pastor myself, my desire is to one day be able to deliver this great message of Love with such effectiveness to the end that lives will be changed and souls saved. To make this a reality, l have become a student of these great preachers, and below, l will share with you key habits I have observed in most of them. My list is fallible, but I do hope it’s helpful.

1. They give preaching a priority in their ministries. A pastor has a 24/7, always on-call schedule. It’s easy to let sermon preparation slide with the demands of the moment. Effective preachers give preaching a very high priority. They make certain they put the hours in to communicate effectively and powerfully. Effective preachers are effective because they are excited by the message, not where they will preach the message or how many people will be there. What makes preachers effective is that they want to preach in season or out, big crowd or small, friendly hearers or sceptical ones, local or international, in person, on TV, radio, print, or the internet. They just want to preach! Effective preachers are convinced that the gospel is God’s truth to man and they are anxious, even uncomfortable if they do not preach.
2. They make their sermons a vital part of their prayer lives. Here is a quote from one of those preachers I believe to be one of the most effective alive today: “I cannot imagine sermon preparation and delivery in my power alone. I regularly plead with God to anoint my preaching and to guide me in my sermon preparation.”
3. They have a routine in sermon preparation. To the best of their abilities, these effective preachers set aside many hours a week on their calendars for sermon preparation. And while emergencies will happen, they do their best to stay committed to that time. Most of them have specific days and times of day when they work on their sermons.
4. They constantly seek input about their messages. They surround themselves with mentors and coaches who help them evaluate their messages. And a number of them watch and listen to their recorded sermons within a week after preaching them.
5. They purify themselves. Effective preachers have the habit of purifying themselves on an ongoing basis in order to remain fresh, open, and sensitive to the Spirit’s lead. They continually purify themselves and their ministries in order to maintain the enthusiasm and passion that characterized their original call to minister. They cultivate spiritual habits that serve to purify their minds and hearts continually:

• They read the Bible continually and not just for sermon prep.
• They make time for personal prayer aside from prayer during public worship.
• They read and study material that will expand their minds and ministries.
• They cultivate relationships that keep them accountable because every minister needs someone, aside from their spouse, who will tell them when they are wrong.

6. They love Jesus more than their church. What would your identity be if you were no longer the pastor or a leader at your church? That’s an important question because it gets to the heart of the matter. The most effective church leaders hold their positions, titles and influence loosely, recognizing that a calling to ministry can easily replace a passion for the one calling.
7. They prioritize their own faith and family. In pouring your life out for others, it’s surprisingly easy to lose track of those closest to you and those who need your attention the most. But the most effective pastors realize they shouldn’t lead on empty and they need to care for their own soul first.
8. They know how to lead leaders and build teams. Recruiting volunteers and developing leaders are two very different things. The pastors and leaders who are most effective in ministry work hard to create a leadership culture. It’s not just getting people to do stuff; it’s finding people to lead ministry. Great leaders don’t do all the work; they build and empower teams to do the work of the ministry. In fact, leadership development is likely your biggest growth opportunity.
9. They are good time managers. You have exactly as much time as everyone else. How are you using that time? Great leaders plan their day with purpose, making sure they are doing things only they can do and devoting time to strategic work. The people you admire most in ministry rarely run to social media to complain about how many meetings they have or how slammed their day is. So don’t wear busyness as a badge of honour.