From Vision to Sunday: How to Plan a Year of Preaching

In this episode, Brandon Hays sits down with Jay Strother, senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist, to talk about something every preacher wrestles with: how far ahead to plan a sermon calendar. Jay walks through why Brentwood Baptist plans its preaching 12 to 14 months out, starting with Easter as the anchor point, and how a team of pastors gathers for a planning retreat that includes prayer, an honest look back at the past year, and a Shark Tank-style pitch session before anyone puts a series on the calendar.The conversation also gets practical about what happens when life doesn't cooperate with a plan. Jay shares stories of calling an audible during a season of grief, letting a preaching calendar simmer for months before locking it in, and aligning kids ministry, students, and worship around the same sermon series so families hear one message instead of several disconnected ones. For pastors who have never planned more than a few weeks ahead, Jay's encouragement is simple: start small, and let the process build from there.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why stepping back to plan a year of preaching creates more room to follow the Holy Spirit, not lessHow Brentwood Baptist plans preaching 12 to 14 months out, and why Easter is the anchor point for the whole calendarWhat actually happens at a preaching-team retreat: prayer, a look back at the past year, a Shark Tank-style pitch session, and a voteHow to build in accountability for calling an audible on a planned series without preaching on impulseHow aligning kids ministry, students, groups, and worship around the same sermon series deepens discipleship in the homeWhere to start if you've never planned more than a few weeks aheadMeet the GuestsBrandon Hays is the Campus and Teaching Pastor at Harpeth Heights, one of Brentwood Baptist's nine campuses.Jay Strother is senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist, where he's served for 24 years across churches of every size before leading the congregation's nine campuses today.