November 2014 Thank you for your interest in being a part of Illuminate Preaching Academy. The following application needs to be completed in total and submitted to the Director of Vital Congregations before Nov. 28, 2014. The application, and all the components will be reviewed and invitations to participate will be sent by Dec. 15, 2014. A complete application for Illuminate Preaching Academy will include: Completed application form Three to five assessments from laity of your congregation(s) Assessment from your District Superintendent Video of you preaching For the laity assessment portion of the application, please make copies of the form along with an addressed, stamped envelope for each person completing the assessment. The mailing address for the completed assessment is: 324 University Ave., 3 rd floor, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210, Attn: Aaron Bouwens. Should you be invited to participate in this cohort, the results of the assessment will be made available to you in an anonymous way. The video of a sermon can be sent via digital file on a thumb drive, or posted to the internet via YouTube, or another site of your choosing. It is preferred that DVDs are not used, however will be accepted after conversation with the Director of Vital Congregations. The exact dates, times and locations of the sessions will be made known when the invitation to participate is made. This is in part to understand where participants will be traveling from so that a central location can be selected. If you have any questions, please contact the Director of Vital Congregations, Aaron Bouwens at aaronbouwens@unyumc.org or (315) 424 7878 ext. 338.
Illuminate Preaching Academy Application for 2015 Please complete the following application. Please use additional sheets if necessary. This and all portions of the application are due to the Director of Vital Congregations no later than Nov. 28, 2014. The completed portions can be sent by mail to: The Rev. Dr. Aaron M. Bouwens, 324 University Ave., 3 rd Floor, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210, or by email to aaronbouwens@unyumc.org. Invitations will be sent by Dec. 15, 2014, please remember that not all who apply will be invited to join the first cohort. Applicants who are not invited for the first cohort will automatically be considered for following cohorts. Demographic Information Name: Congregation(s): Address: Phone: email: District: Congregation Information Average worship attendance: 5 25 26 75 76 150 151 249 250+ Number of worship services: Time(s): Describe each worship service celebrated with your congregation: Average age of your congregation Describe the racial/ethnic diversity of your congregation:
About Your Preaching Describe the process you use to prepare for preaching a message: Describe your preaching style: Please rate yourself on the following based on a 1 10 scale, 1 being not at all, 10 being with great excellence. 1. Faithful to the Biblical Text 2. Consistent with Wesleyan theology 3. Engage a congregation 4. Inspire and motivate 5. Be relevant to daily life of a congregation 6. Highly relational 7. Give evidence of a deep and authentic spiritual life 8. Appropriate use of humor, stories and other communication tools 9. Invite people to ongoing transformation 10. Draw the congregation deeper in their relationship with God 11. Clear and focused on what the preacher wants the congregation to know, feel and do. 12. Fruitful, evidence of lives transforming because of the efforts of the preacher Describe the relationship between preaching and worship.
What is your greatest strength in preaching? Please explain. What is your most significant growing edge as a preacher? Please explain. Why are you applying to the Illuminate Preaching Academy? How much time are you willing to invest in the art and craft of preaching? How will you know that you have been successful in developing your preaching? Anything else you would like to communicate to the team discerning who will be invited to participate?
Illuminate Preaching Academy Evaluation for 2015 Laity Portion Please complete the following application. Please use additional sheets if necessary. This evaluation and all portions of the application are due to the Director of Vital Congregations no later than Nov. 28, 2014. The completed portions can be sent by mail to: The Rev. Dr. Aaron M. Bouwens, 324 University Ave., 3 rd Floor, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210, or by email to aaronbouwens@unyumc.org. Demographic Information Name: Congregation: Name of Pastor: Address: Phone: email: Congregation Information Average worship attendance: 5 25 26 75 76 150 151 249 250+ Number of worship services: Time(s): Describe each worship service celebrated with your congregation: What three words best describe the preaching of your pastor? Describe a time your life was transformed by your pastors preaching.
What is the greatest strength of your pastors preaching? What would improve the preaching of your pastor? Please rate your pastor on the following based on a 1 10 scale, 1 being not at all, 10 being with great excellence. 1. Faithful to the Biblical Text 2. Consistent with Wesleyan theology 3. Engage a congregation 4. Inspire and motivate 5. Be relevant to daily life of a congregation 6. Highly relational 7. Give evidence of a deep and authentic spiritual life 8. Appropriate use of humor, stories and other communication tools 9. Invite people to ongoing transformation 10. Draw the congregation deeper in their relationship with God 11. Clear and focused on what the preacher wants the congregation to know, feel and do. 12. Fruitful, evidence of lives transforming because of the efforts of the preacher Anything else you would like to communicate to the team discerning who will be invited to participate?
Illuminate Preaching Academy Evaluation for 2015 District Superintendent Portion Please complete the following evaluation. Please use additional sheets if necessary. This evaluation, and all, portions of the application are due to the Director of Vital Congregations no later than Nov. 28, 2014. The completed portions can be sent by mail to: The Rev. Aaron M. Bouwens, 324 University Ave., 3 rd Floor, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210, or by email to aaronbouwens@unyumc.org. Demographic Information Your Name: District: Name of Pastor: Address: Phone: email: What three words best describe the preaching of pastor that has applied for Illuminate Preaching Academy? What is the greatest strength of the pastor s preaching? What would improve the preaching of the pastor? Would you recommend, this pastor for the Illuminate Preaching Academy? Please explain.
Please rate your pastor on the following based on a 1 10 scale, 1 being not at all, 10 being with great excellence. 1. Faithful to the Biblical Text 2. Consistent with Wesleyan theology 3. Engage a congregation 4. Inspire and motivate 5. Be relevant to daily life of a congregation 6. Highly relational 7. Give evidence of a deep and authentic spiritual life 8. Appropriate use of humor, stories and other communication tools 9. Invite people to ongoing transformation 10. Draw the congregation deeper in their relationship with God 11. Clear and focused on what the preacher wants the congregation to know, feel and do. 12. Fruitful, evidence of lives transforming because of the efforts of the preacher Anything else you would like to communicate to the team discerning who will be invited to participate?