Sermon Central
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How To Plan A Preaching Calendar That Reaches And Grows
By Herbert Cooper on Feb 19, 2026
Strategic sermon planning helps churches reach new people and disciple believers. Here are ten practical principles for building a balanced, effective teaching calendar.
How to Plan a Preaching Calendar That Reaches and Grows
An effective preaching calendar does not happen by accident. Churches that see both outreach and spiritual growth tend to plan intentionally, balancing evangelistic series with discipleship depth. Smart pastors leverage high-attendance seasons, vary their teaching approach, address real-life questions, and work with creative teams to maximize clarity and engagement. Planning ahead creates momentum, builds trust, and equips the congregation to invite others confidently. A thoughtful calendar serves the mission by helping people take their next step with Christ.
1. Leverage the seasons when folks are most likely to attend church.
I like to launch new series that have a more outreach focus when people are more likely to attend services and invite their friends. Those seasons are cyclical. They depend on where you are located. Obviously, Christmas and Easter are two common times when people are likely to attend church.
2. Find the right balance between the “reach people” series and the “grow people” series.
There will always be tension here, but the objective is to try to balance out using services to attract a crowd and help people take their next steps in their spiritual journey. At West Ridge, we’ve actually color-coded our teaching calendar to make sure we maintain a healthy balance.
3. Use a variety of approaches to begin your series development.
Teach on a topic in a one-series. Teach through a book of the Bible in another series. Teach a series of messages on a specific biblical character. Use a series to teach through a specific doctrine. Mix up your approach.
4. Address questions that people are asking.
Our tendency is to deliver only the information we want people to hear. People will not engage our teaching unless we are addressing the issues they are facing in their daily lives. A friend of mine routinely reviews the headlines of women’s magazines to get a sense of the topics that people are discussing in today’s culture.
5. Deliver biblical truth and life application.
Your teaching will not produce a life change unless you also provide a life application. Without application, people may experience conviction or inspiration, but they won’t know what to do with that. Make it a goal in every message to clearly identify one next step for people to take to apply what they’ve learned.
6. Shoot for eight to ten series throughout the year.
Your average series should be four to six weeks. If you’re teaching through a book and it needs to go longer than that, try to break it up into multiple series. Every time you start a series, it creates an opportunity for people to invite their friends. You want more opportunities for people to invite their friends.
7. Plan ahead.
You can wait until Saturday to finish your message, but try to at least outline your topics a couple of months in advance. When you do that, you free up creative people to plan series packaging, service elements, and creative communications to enhance your teaching. You also provide time for appropriate promotions to occur.
8. Plan with a team.
One team may drive the topics that are addressed throughout the year. Another team may drive the series packaging, including identifying titles and visual images. Another team may develop the service elements and execution. Whatever the case, the end result will always be better when you have the right people engaged in a team approach.
9. Remember, the people who already attend your church are your best promotional vehicle.
You can spend a lot of money on advertising or direct mail, but the number one way new people will attend your services is through an invitation from someone who already attends your church. Want more people to show up? Make it easier for people to invite their friends.
10. Pastors should teach, and artists should be creative.
The series I’ve experienced with the biggest impact, both numerically and in life change, has occurred when artists let the pastor drive the teaching and pastors let the artists drive the creative elements. The pastors control this. If they’re willing to empower artists, God can use this creativity to prepare people’s hearts for the message.
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