Christian Speaking; Major?

[SeanL]

Hey, umm...

Recently I discovered that I wanted to know more about what it takes to become a Christian Public Speaker... you know the "special speakers" that are sometimes at events and what not. I think that I would be a very good person for this as a career and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for looking into it...?

 

[emmzee]

Hmm, my suggestions would be ...

1) Look at the websites for famous Christian speakers that you know of, and try to see where they went to school or how they prepared to be speakers. You'll probably find that they took a wide variety of paths to end up being public speakers!

2) Become an expert on the topic that you want to speak about. Want to talk about Christian leadership? Study leadership. Want to talk about apologetics? Study that. Spiritual formation? etc ...

 

[kuntrygurl_26]

search for young christian speakers around you town and get advice from them. I personally speak at alot of different chruches around here and to there youth groups. God has opened all kinds of doors for me. speak with your pastor, I am sure he can point you in the right direction. Start out with speaking to your youth group and other small groups frist and most importantly never take credit for anything you write! It is all God's glory!

 

[ValiantForTruth]

Have you considered becoming an evangelist? They basically are "special speakers". They don't only speak in week long revival campaigns. If you want to speak on at teen rallies and camps, that is probably the best degree to get. Some also specialize in other areas as well (e.g. apologetics, marriage, creation evangelism). As what you are describing sounds like an Itinerant ministry. That is the major that I would suggest looking into. That is the major I am taking. I can't wait to actually "get out there". Off the top of my head I can think of 3 different schools that offer a degree in evangelism (I am sure there are more). Bob Jones, Pensacola Christian, and Ambassador Baptist in NC. I go to Ambassador - that was the school all the pastors that I talked to said was "the school to go to for evangelism majors"

 

[emmzee]

ValiantForTruth makes a good point. If you are interested in public speaking for the purposes of evangelism (or training Christians to defend their faith) you may want to consider an apologetics or philosophy program (from schools like Biola University, Southern Evangelical Seminary, or Liberty University). I'm not sure if any accredited school offers an apologetics BA; SES is probably closest with their apologetics-oriented BA in religion.

Another possibility could be taking a "Christian education" program. This would, in effect, teach you how to teach (lecture, speak) and also open doors to potential employment in other areas.

Here's some links to get you started ...

Philosophy:
http://www.biola.edu/undergrad/academics/majors/philosophy.cfm
https://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=31

Apologetics (Religion):
http://www.ses.edu/academics_degrees_ba.htm

Christian Education:
http://www.biola.edu/undergrad/academics/majors/christian_education.cfm
https://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=76