Highland Church of Christ hosts a Wednesday night program called “Horizons” at 7 p.m. providing students with the chance to plan and preach a sermon in front of a congregation.

Horizons is a young preachers program started by Highland preacher, Jonathan Storment, in hopes of spreading his passion for preaching to university students.

“I love preaching, I love writing sermons, I love every part of it,” Storment said. “I would like to help open up some other people’s eyes to how great and rewarding this job is, as well as help them reimagine that church is a way you can put a dent in the universe.”

A typical Wednesday night of the Horizons series is much like a regular Highland service in that it includes worship time and a sermon, and is located in the big auditorium.  The only difference is, each week one of the members of the Horizon group is given the chance to plan the entire service, including the songs sung by the student-lead praise team.

“The idea is to give the same experience that Jonathan and Brandon [worship minister] would have planning a worship service at Highland,” said David Ayres, grad student from Irving and preaching intern at Highland.

Ayres notes that practicing preaching in front of an actual church congregation can teach the aspiring preachers in a unique way, helping them learn lessons they might not get in the classroom.

“A lot of the time preaching practice for people our age takes place in an academic setting and those are two very different things,” Ayres said. “Some of the time, what makes a preaching teacher happy isn’t exactly something that works for a congregation.”

The week after giving their sermon, students meet with Storment, and other preaching professionals, to receive a critique.

“It’s been really helpful just to figure out what things I can lean into as strengths and then what things I need to work on to improve,” said Jake Jacobson, senior Biblical texts major from North Richland Hills.

Those involved with the Horizons program agree it is a great way to experience the field they are interested in while getting advice from mentors already in that field.

“It’s given me a confidence that this is something I can do and it’s something that I can continue to get better at,” said Jacobson.

Anyone who has an interest in ministry and would like to gain experience is encouraged to email Storment at Horizon@highlandchurch.org to get more information.