Shropshire woman shortlisted for preaching competition

The competition, Sermon of the Year, is hosted by London School of Theology (LST) and Preach magazine.

Rebecca Coatsworth, from Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere, successfully submitted a sermon and will be preaching in front of a live audience and BBC camera crew.

LST and Preach magazine invited entrants from across the country to submit a written sermon of no more than 1,500 words in keeping with the theme ‘Be Set Free’. Entries came from preachers as young as 19 through to 83 years old. For a third of entrants it was the first sermon they had ever written.

Rebecca Coatsworth, 24, is a copywriter for a Christian charity and completed a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University in 2015, before going on to do two years of internships with churches in Watford and Hereford.

Rebecca said: “I came across this competition on Twitter by chance and entered it on a whim – I like writing sermons and preaching them so why not enter a competition that was asking me to do what I enjoy?

“I got the email telling me I was a finalist at the end of my lunch break at work. I saw the subject line and started freaking out, I absolutely could not believe it. There were tears while my dad shared my joy, by laughing, and promised to pass the news on.

“Honestly I am both incredibly nervous and incredibly excited for this event. I feel 100 per cent inadequate and totally out of my comfort zone, which terrifies me, but if God can use my sermon to speak to just one person it will be worth it.”

The winning sermon will be announced at the finals after a reception at LST’s campus in Northwood. The competition winner will receive a year’s free tuition at London School of Theology or a £500 voucher for the LST bookshop.