People sometimes ask me how to get started in preaching.

Well, I didn’t get started in preaching by preaching, but by witnessing. A few months after I was born again, I started telling people about Jesus and the first group I remember going to were the kids at the Muslim Student Association. (That was an exciting experience!)

Over the next year, I volunteered at different college events. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship would have a booth, and I’d dialogue with anyone who came by with questions.

I went door-to-door with a neighbor for a while, praying for people and sharing the gospel.

Then I did a course on street preaching with Open Air Campaigners.

I finally gave my first official “sermon” at a little Salvation Army mission. It was on the kingship of Christ…and probably very bad!

From there, God kept opening doors—pulpit supply, preaching at a mission, sharing in a men’s group, teaching a small group, etc. God kept opening doors. He still is.

So how do you get started? Here’s what someone told Stuart Briscoe:

“Stuart, preaching isn’t difficult. You study your Bible; then you stand up and tell them what it says. That’s it…And if you’re any good at it, people will ask you to do it. If they ask you, and you’re free, the answer is yes” (Briscoe, Flowing Streams, p. 70).

When it comes down to it, it is that simple.

Of course, you can always get better at preaching (see a book I wrote here). But if you want to develop your gift, the main thing is to use it in small venues or large ones. Be ready to preach when you can, wherever you can. As Paul told Timothy:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching (2 Tim 4:2).

So, before you get started in preaching, be ready. Be ready no matter the season. And start small. Start by telling people about Jesus and see where that leads.Thought for the day: If God made you a preacher, He’ll open the doors for you, but it helps to test them with a push.