Preaching expert to speak at Church Leaders Conference

Area ministers, youth directors and worship leaders are invited to attend Northwestern College’s annual Church Leaders Conference April 26, the Tuesday after Easter.

The Rev. Scott Hoezee, a pastor, author and director of Calvin Theological Seminary’s Center for Excellence in Preaching, is the featured speaker for the half-day event. He will give two morning addresses on “Preaching the Text, Proclaiming the Gospel” and conduct a question-and-answer session following lunch. The free conference will begin with registration and coffee from 8 to 9 a.m. and conclude by 1:30 p.m.

Hoezee’s work is centered on the goal of helping pastors become excellent communicators of God’s word through preaching that is biblical, authentic, contextual and life-changing. An ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, he served two congregations for 15 years: the Second Christian Reformed Church in Fremont, Mich., and then Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., as its minister of preaching and administration. He joined the seminary’s staff in 2005.

A graduate of Calvin College, Hoezee holds a Master of Divinity degree from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has been a member of the Pastor-Theologian Program sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, N.J., where he was pastor-in-residence in the fall of 2000. He also serves as a co-editor of Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought and is the author of several books, including The Riddle of Grace and Proclaim the Wonder: Preaching Science on Sunday.

Approximately 125 area church leaders representing different denominations are expected to attend Northwestern’s Church Leaders Conference. The reservation deadline is April 15. For more information or to register, contact Mary Beltman in Northwestern’s advancement office at 712-707-7106 or mbeltman@nwciowa.edu.