NewStats: 3,262,892 , 8,178,488 topics. Date: Wednesday, 04 June 2025 at 12:39 AM 201w71

I have three reasons why clapping during a sermon should be well received. I have been teaching my launch team this.

1) It gives the preacher . When a preacher is up there preaching and he's trying to make a point and no one budges or moves, the preacher might feel like they haven't grasped it. But when the church understands and agrees on a point that is so powerful and true, clapping tells the pastor that they are agreeing. Yes, saying amen is great too, but clapping can help the church be more alive.

2) It encourages the pastor. Let's be real. Pastors need encouragement too. Tough crowds are tough to preach too. When the crowd begins to clap the pastor keeps going and gets excited about what he's preaching about. It tells the pastor that the church is also excited about what you're saying.

3) It glorifies God. As it was put very well by some people here, it glorifies God. In sports games, people clap their hands when they favorite team scores right? Why wouldn't we clap our hands when we are reminded or when we learn that Jesus has beat sin and given us a second chance? I feel like not clapping and rejoicing after hearing truth like that shows the world that we're not really excited about this message. If nonchristians come in my church, I want to show them that we are excited about the Pure Word of God, we are excited about its message and excited about people coming to saving faith! If sports teams get applause, why not Truth spoken through a pastor. It's not meant to glorify the pastor, it's meant to glorify God. As Pastor Judah Smith always says, "A silent church is a dead church, and we're not a dead church!"

By the way, I have been thinking a lot about this topic because I just recently planted a church in Bethlehem, PA called Pure Word Church. Check out our website (under construction right now). www.PureWordChurch.org. God bless!

Pastor Tim Azevedo