The Compelling Preaching Initiative builds on a long and historic commitment to preaching in congregations of the General Baptist State Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. While Baptists defy most generalizations and can embody diverse and even conflicting theologies and divergent ways of “being” church, most all affirm the centrality of the sermon and the practice of preaching as central to the worship of God and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (GBSC) and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC) seek to strengthen and invigorate preaching among pastors in an effort to better communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to an increasingly complex and diverse world. In coming together, the GBSC and CBFNC are committed to a common cause of engaging our preachers with peer-based learning experiences that will examine the rich tradition of preaching in our history, reflect upon the contemporary challenges for communicating the claims of the Christian faith, and explore new avenues, new resources, new modalities for preaching the gospel both within and outside the church. 

The Compelling Preaching Initiative brings together exemplary preachers, professors of homiletics, theologians and thought leaders to teach, educate and inspire participants.