Pastors and church leaders from across Oklahoma attended the 2025 Priority of Preaching Conference on Monday, Feb. 3. Hosted at Oklahoma City, Quail Springs, and presented by Oklahoma Baptists, this year’s theme was “The Pathway of Progress” which focused on constructing sermons that are both Scripturally sound and easy to understand.
This year’s featured speakers were Scott Pace and Tony Merida, both experienced pastors and church leaders. Pace has ministered as a pastor for over 20 years in a variety of full-time and interim roles through three states. Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., and is the vice president of Planter Development for Send Network. Each gave valuable insights on how to construct a sermon well through five different sessions.
Pace focused on the overall structure of a sermon, advising pastors to boil down sermons into one main theme word and asking themselves “How does the text support the main idea?” He also emphasized the importance and timelessness of Scripture and how pastors cannot force it to work within their sermon, rather make sure that Scripture supports their sermon.
“Scripture is revelation,” he said. “It is how God reveals Himself to us through written text.”
Pace also advised pastors on how to utilize the different types of Scripture and encouraged them to remember the spiritual work they do.
“I hope that we don’t lose sight of the spiritual work that we’re doing,” he said.
Merida’s session focused on the context of Scripture and understanding thatbefore building a sermon. He outlined a five-step plan on how to develop a sermon using the context of any given Scripture: study the text, unify the redemptive theme, outline the text, develop the function elements and then add an intro and conclusion. One main point he focused on was ensuring that text from Scripture is not taken out of context. An example he gave was Philippians 4:13.
“We all know Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,’” Merida said. “But what we sometimes forget is that verse is speaking about contentedness.”
For over a decade, the Priority of Preaching Conference has been a way for pastors to gain practical advice. It is the entry point of training strategy to help pastors make progress in their preaching.
Brett Selby, regional ministry partner for Oklahoma Baptists, has organized the conference every year and believes that no matter how experienced a pastor can be, there is always room to grow.
“We feel like progress in preaching (1 Timothy 4:14) is mandatory for every pastor and preacher,” Selby said. “There is no ‘key’ to becoming better; rather there are a series of steps that a pastor can take toward this objective. The Priority of Preaching Conference tries to lay out some of those steps for our preachers.”
For more information on upcoming pastor events, visit www.oklahomabaptists.org/pastors.
