Instructions for Contributors

Thank you for being a contributor. We have the incredible good news of Jesus and a Bible that was inspired by God! And God uses the gift of preaching to change lives. So we’re always looking for ways to better communicate this hope and timeless truth we have. Here’s what we’re asking from you today.

  • Start with a quick prayer for you and the speaker. Pray for God’s help as you listen and take notes. And pray for God to use the speaker to change, help, love, encourage, and course-correct those that will hear him or her.

  • Listen in during the message run-through.

  • Use the form below to take notes.

  • Share out loud at least one thought from your notes after the message run-through.

  • Hit “Send Your Notes” after you share out loud to send them to the speaker. They’ll disappear after you hit send, so wait until after the time for feedback is done.

Questions As You Listen

There are four general questions to keep in mind as you listen:

  1. Did the speaker CONNECT?

    (Did the speaker engage the audience well?)

  2. Was the big idea and message CLEAR?

    (Could anyone hearing this message catch the one sentence big idea? Did the message stay on-point with the big idea?)

  3. Did the audience CARE?

    (Was there a clear case presented for why this would matter to students?)

  4. Was it CHALLENGING?

    (Could they do something in response to the message? Is the message applicable and actionable?)

In addition to those four general questions, there are two specific questions that will help you give actionable feedback to the speaker. In other words, sharing thoughts that answer these two questions may be the most pragmatically helpful feedback for the speaker to adjust between now and “go-time.” Here are those two questions:

  1. What could be ELIMINATED? (Are there any parts that could be taken out and the big idea and message still work?)

  2. What could be ELABORATED on? (Are there any points that the speaker moved on from too quickly?)

Other things to consider:

  • Content. How quickly did the speaker get to the biblical text? How prevalent was the biblical reading, explaining, and applying?

  • Mind breaks. Did the speaker spread out some comedy, illustrations, quotes, slides, photos, videos, or stories to reset the audience’s brain from the monologue?

  • Transitions. How did the speaker set up the message, how did they transition out of the message?

Notes