Before the Pulpit | Sermon Coaching, Canada

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The Art of Gospel Communication​

Discover your fullest potential in preaching: Embrace the power of effective communication and witness the transformative impact of the gospel in lives around you.

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What is

BEFORE THE PULPIT

BEFORE THE PULPIT is a coaching service journey to becoming an effective communicator of the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that each time you preach the gospel, you want your listeners to have a transformational experience with the risen Christ.

Our joy is to support and strengthen you in your preaching growth by the grace of God the Father. Why is BEFORE THE PULPIT for you? We all need someone to walk with us to maximize our potential. If you are new to preaching, let me walk with you to help you better discover the gift God has given you.

If you are an experienced preacher, let me come alongside you to affirm what’s going well and see how it can be even better for the glory of God.

About Us

What People Are Saying

Byron Durant
Byron Durant
☆☆☆☆☆
US Army Chaplain, MDiv., DMin Candidate.
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I am a testament to what BEFORE THE PULPIT can do for a preacher who desires to get better at preaching. Not only did Dr. Richards teach me how to preach better, but he gave me tools to sharpen my preaching. He taught me different preaching styles and how to dive in and extract fresh water from an old well. If you want to be on the cutting edge of preaching BEFORE THE PULPIT will put you on the cutting edge of preaching.
Emily
Emily
☆☆☆☆☆
Young Adult of Rosthern SDA church, SK.
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I was interested in preaching for my church but had no clue about how to begin. But from working with pastor Carvil in sermon group sessions, we discussed the Scripture passage that would become pastor Carvil’s next sermon. He provided questions to guide our study, all of which were geared towards sermon preparation. The insights gained from group discussion alone were worth the process, but seeing how the discussion was transformed into pastor Carvil’s next sermon was the best part. Once I experienced this process a few times, I started to think about how I might organize a sermon on a particular passage based on the strategies pastor Carvil discussed. Altogether, after working with Carvil on four sermons, I found the hard part of sermon preparation—finding something to say and knowing how to say it—much less daunting.
Morgan
Morgan
☆☆☆☆☆
Young Adult of Rosthern SDA church, SK.
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I participated in one of the first group sessions with Pastor Carvil, during which I gained not only a deeper appreciation for the scripture texts we covered but an understanding of how to compose supporting points of a main idea and connect the discussion in our study into a sermon. It was helpful to discuss the main themes of the passage and how these could be applied to our previous experiences or current situation. I valued the deliverables or take home message from the sermon composition workshop. Pastor also provided helpful resources to approach scripture and sermon writing which I still use to write sermons and in my own personal study.
Pastor Anastacia Ferguson-Bansie
Pastor Anastacia Ferguson-Bansie
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Woman's Ministry Director, Chesapeak Conference of SDA, Associate Pastor, Atholton SDA Church.
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BEFORE THE PULPIT is a game changer for any pastor looking to level up their homiletic abilities. Carvil Richards is a master teacher, preacher and coach with a wealth of knowledge to share. It is obvious that he is passionate about seeing me become the best preacher possible. His innovative and fresh approach to sermonic coaching is priceless. As one who tends to struggle over what to preach and how to develop my points, BEFORE THE PULPIT offers exactly what I needed to overcome my sermon prep anxiety. By utilizing the tried and tested tools offered such as preaching style development, best practices for sermonic prep , research and structure is like a destressor pill for preachers. I've seen tremendous growth and a new dimension of spiritual depth added to my sermons. What I appreciate most of all is that his approach leaves you with the foundational backbone to put a spiritually healthy sermon together every time. Thank you Carvil for allowing the Lord to use you to put together such an exceptional program. Forever grateful!
Jamie Ricketts
Jamie Ricketts
☆☆☆☆☆
Chaplain Adventhealth Orlando
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Working with BEFORE THE PULPIT has made my sermon prep and sermon delivery much better. I reached out to Carvil mainly because I was struggling with sermon structure, which hindered my sermon delivery. Carvil helped me develop a comfortable sermon structure. I have greatly benefited from this ministry, and I am now consistently creating sermons with confidence. Altogether, I am less nervous about the whole process, and my sermon delivery is much better. I recommend reaching out to BEFORE THE PULPIT for all your sermon needs.
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Meet your Coach​

Dr. Carvil Richards– Preaching and Sermon Writing Coach

Dr. Carvil Richards currently pastors a two-church district in Saskatchewan, Canada. Prior to this, he served in Nova Scotia, in a three-church district. Serving in a church district means you will not be preaching in the same church every week. As such, you need another preacher or lay leader to help feed the sheep through preaching the Word.

It was in Nova Scotia that Dr. Richards did a series of intensive preaching labs (one or two days) with lay leaders on sermon writing, sermon structuring and preaching, so churches that are often led by lay leaders would still be blessed by the preaching even when it’s not done by the pastor. In his ministry context in Saskatchewan, Canada, he has been offering coaching and mentoring to young adults and other lay preachers in his congregations.

Dr. Richards has been journeying with both lay and experienced preachers for over 10 years by helping them to become more effective at the art and science of preaching.

Dr. Richard’s academic journey began at Northern Caribbean University with a BA in Theology, then at Andrews University in Michigan with a Master of Divinity (MDiv). At Tyndale University, in May 2023, he graduated as valedictorian with a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Preaching and Communication.

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