Based on your own preaching calendar, service structure, and ministry approach, you’ll have some guest speakers throughout the year. It may be more than a dozen or only a handful. I’m not talking about having another staff member fill the pulpit for you. This is someone from outside your organization stepping onto your platform to speak.

There are plenty of tips to give in preparing for a guest speaker that include making travel arrangements or how best to compensate the individual. What I want to help you do is prepare your next guest speaker to maximize his or her time and influence at your church as they speak.

Let’s be honest, the goal of a guest speaker is oftentimes just to fill a spot on the calendar. But anyone who has the opportunity to speak to your congregation should do so with confidence that he or she can hit a home run every time.

Getting To Know You
The first way to prepare your guest speaker is by helping the individual get a feel and understanding of your congregation. Let him or her know what type of audience they can expect, whether the speaker is thoughtful and engaging or relaxed and casual. Does your congregation react visibly and vocally to a message, or are they making internal notes to digest later? Do your people love funny stories or do they appreciate exposition more? These are the types of hints that can help any speaker prepare his or her best message and get off on the right foot.

What makes you “you”? What is unique about your church? The first place that you should visit to explain your church’s individuality is your mission and vision. Many churches and organizations post their mission statement somewhere on a wall so that anyone visiting can see it and members are able to memorize it. Even if that’s the case with you, it may be very helpful to remind your guest speaker of the one thing that drives everything at your church. Here’s a way to do that:

“I’m so glad you’ve agreed to speak at New Life Church next week. As you know we exist to glorify God by telling others about Him and connecting believers to Him. Let me know if you have any questions about how we do this, especially during our weekend services.”

This allows you to reinforce your mission statement while reminding your guest speaker to be vigilant about the church’s direction.

Anyone who has the opportunity to speak into your audience should do so with confidence that he or she can hit a home run every time.

But there’s more to your individuality than just mission and vision. How do you do church? What is unique about your dress code, especially for your pastors and speakers?

I remember one time a guest speaker showed up on Sunday morning ready to preach in a suit and tie. In most churches this would be standard attire. However, our church was a bit more casual, and he stuck out like a sore thumb. A quick conversation the week before could have helped the speaker be more comfortable, removed distractions and helped our people be more receptive to his message.

Think through other things about the individuality of your church, many of which you may take for granted. What style of music should the speaker expect? What is different about your order of service? Do you allow drinks in your sanctuary, or is coffee off-limits? Will children be in the service, or are they encouraged to be in their own age-appropriate environment? Little details like this can help a guest speaker be prepared and ready to deliver his or her best.

Don’t Repeat After Me
One final area to address — but this is probably the first thing you’ll talk about with a guest speaker. Make sure you review your guest speaker’s text and topic before he or she preaches. First of all, this helps ensure that their sermon is theologically and doctrinally sound. But there’s another important reason to do this as well.

Many pastors preach a series format, but that’s not always the case. When it is, though, your guest speaker will either be preaching a message in a series you’re currently covering or he will be preaching a stand-alone sermon. In either case, you should let the speaker know the topics and texts you’ll be addressing so he or she doesn’t repeat the same subject as you.

In some cases it may be helpful to get another perspective on a certain text or topic. But in order to help your guest speaker preach the best message possible you should avoid preaching from the same text. Besides, your congregation deserves a fresh word whenever they have the chance to hear someone new.

Most importantly, your guest speaker is just that — a guest. He or she should be treated with the utmost respect and honor, and that includes helping them be the best communicator he or she can be. At the end of the day when the speaker has left, you’ll still be there week after week. But the fresh word of God communicated through a unique voice will prove to be invaluable to your church.