Welcome to the Festival of Homiletics Virtual Edition!

Welcome on behalf of Luther Seminary and the Festival of Homiletics! There are over 13,000 preachers and church leaders from over 56 countries and 90 denominations who will gather online this week for inspiration, outstanding preaching, fellowship and renewal. We are here to think and learn deeply about preaching and leading churches at a time when most of the ways we live into the role of church are in a state of transition. I pray that this time offers space for the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into your being and your ministry. 

You can get information in the following ways:

  • Instructions to Access the Free Online Version will help you find your way to the Festival programming.
  • Festival Website contains information on registering, schedule, festival documents, and a handy “help” function if you get stuck. 
  • Daily Emails with links, updates, and special announcements which will be sent to the email that you used to register. We suggest that you add festival@faithlead.church to your contact list so that you don’t miss an important communication.
  • Festival Lounge in the Faith+Lead Learning Lab is a moderated space for live chat, program viewing and exploration of links to our vendors.

If you are planning to have a watch party with friends, we recommend that you set up a side channel (such as Zoom, texting, or other chat functions) to connect with each other. With such a large number of people viewing the Festival, it may be difficult to find those people you want to connect with. 

The schedule for the week is located on the festival website schedule and in the digital program, which you can download if you wish.  All of our presentations start at the top of the hour; once they finish, the conference will be offline until the next presentation begins. If you stay connected during the break times, you may need to refresh your screen on the hour to engage the next video. We have such an abundance of great speakers, preachers, musicians and worship that we couldn’t include everything in the virtual festival; if you miss a presentation, or want to see some of our great bonus material, you can always purchase the on-demand recording package to watch later.

 The Festival is honored to have several sponsors for this event. They are all listed in the digital program or on our website on the vendor page. Be sure to check them out. Some to mention:

  • Cokesbury  will have a “virtual” bookstore with all of your favorite’s available!
  • Yogadevotion has created nine special online classes for this year’s festival!
  • Shop til’ you drop at our virtual  Vendor Fair!
  • Have lunch delivered while you watch the festival; place your lunch order at Panera Delivery if you have one in your location.
  • Sojourners  is offering everyone their June 2020 Digital Edition for free!
  • Convergence staff have been providing Festival support to us during this time of transition – Thank you!

 Follow the Festival in real time:

  • Join the conversation: Post your thoughts, photos, and videos and connect with other attendees
    • #Homiletics2020
    • Facebook: facebook.com/festhomiletics
    • Twitter : @FestHomiletics
    • tweetchat.com/room/Homiletics2020
  • We’ll post updates to our blog throughout the Festival. If you’re blogging at the event and would like to get a mention, send us a note.

We can’t wait to see you what you think of our first ever virtual conference! Until then, send your questions to festival@luthersem.edu.

Stay Safe,

Festival Staff