Chapel Program

The primary purpose of City Seminary is to train men to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. To accomplish that, the seminary has implemented a chapel program to give qualified students opportunities to preach, with their sermons being evaluated by the professors.

Schedule and Attendance

Chapel will be held on alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters (except during examination weeks), and take place between the two classes (7:35–7:55 PM). The second class will begin immediately after chapel. On nights when no chapel is scheduled, the second class will begin at 7:40 PM.

All students who have registered for a Tuesday or a Thursday class (including auditors) must attend chapel when it occurs on the night of their class(es). Attendance will be taken and recorded in each student’s permanent record. More than two absences will result in an unsatisfactory notation. Two tardies will count as one absence.

Since chapel is a service of worship, students in the second class must plan to arrive on time to avoid causing unnecessary disruption.

Students should feel free to invite family and friends to the seminary’s chapel services.

Chapel Speakers

Qualified chapel speakers are students who have completed Hermeneutics, Homiletics and two Systematic Theology courses.

Chapel speakers should dress appropriately for one who stands before God’s people as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jackets and ties are strongly recommended. Anything cute or novel should be avoided.

Sermon outlines must be submitted two days before chapel to the professor teaching the earlier class on the night of chapel. This professor will review the outline and advise the student within twenty-four hours of any changes that he should consider. After chapel, the same professor will either meet with the student to review his sermon or provide him with a written review via email.

Preaching Practicum

Preaching in chapel counts toward the seminary’s Preaching Practicum requirement with each semester being one-third of a credit. Students who have earned two credits will be exempt from preaching in chapel, but must still attend chapel as outlined above.

In addition to preaching in chapel, each student must submit a written sermon on another passage of Scripture. After it has been approved, he must also preach it before his pastor and/or elders, who will be asked to provide written evaluations using the seminary’s approved Sermon Evaluation Form. Students are advised to begin working with their pastor and/or elders to complete this part of the assignment as soon as possible.

All work for the Preaching Practicum must be completed before the end of the semester. The grade for the Preaching Practicum will be Pass/Fail.

Preaching Assignments are available HERE.