We have been overseeing the Polishing the Pulpit Workshop since its inception fifteen years ago and are excited about the good it does in the kingdom. As to the question at hand, we obviously do not believe in charging the world to hear the gospel preached. We believe that PTP differs from a revival or evangelistic service in that it is a cooperative work of many congregations in educating and edifying their leaders and teachers.

Many churches cooperate in good works of various kinds, each bearing a part of the cost.

• Some churches, for instance, go together to host an area VBS, youth event, teacher’s workshop, meeting, or singing. They usually divide up the advertising and other expenses so it is not a burden on any one congregation.
• Many churches oversee a missionary or planting a church in some distant place, and enlist the help of other congregations in bearing the financial load that they could not do alone.
• Some churches establish schools to train preachers and then other congregations send their young men to study in those schools. They usually assist the overseeing congregation with the finances required to run such a school.

This is what churches are doing with PTP. We oversee the work, and other churches help us bear the expense by covering the cost of sending their preachers, elders, and other members. Certainly if it is right to send a young man to a school for two years to begin his education, then it is right to send him a year later to PTP for a week to continue his education. Splitting the cost and cooperating enables the brotherhood to have an event that otherwise would not be possible.

A little history might also help in understanding PTP as a cooperative effort. When PTP began with fifteen preachers fifteen years ago, they came to us and suggested that each of their congregations have a part in its expenses. Each wanted to help bear the cost of what was benefiting their local works, instead of asking one church to bear all the load (Galatians 6:5). They felt (wisely so) that it needed to be under an eldership and asked us to oversee the event. We have put a great deal of money into PTP over the years, and wish we could pay for PTP outright (perhaps one day God will make that possible). Currently, though, we are a relatively small congregation (we averaged less than 200 in attendance last year) and simply cannot pay for the entire PTP budget.

With that said, we still take precautions not to exclude anyone from benefiting from the workshop. As the brochure explains, “We do not want anyone who needs recharging to miss out because we are charging for it.”

The fee is voluntary. Any person can come to any session for no charge. We have always had a policy that any who needed, or wanted, to come for free could do so. We have never turned away a single individual from the event, and have arranged for preachers from mission points and others to have free lodging, food, and materials. We sponsor some from our budget (and sometimes from our pockets). We have members from the area (host churches) who come at no charge every year. We give scholarships to the staff and students of schools of preaching (three schools came this year and two additional schools are committed for 2010). In fact, we provided scholarships this year for about 200 people, not including the 125 or so who came as a part of the team of speakers and staff (many of whom donated their time), or the 250 children and teens who came to PTP for free.

Of course, the church here, nor any individual, makes anything from PTP. The money is used for the materials attendees receive during the week (schedules, books, handouts, notebooks, pens, etc), equipment rental and conference space costs, and speaker’s lodging and travel expenses. Each year the Jacksonville congregation makes up the difference in the money coming in and the actual cost. We were happy to do so, and felt that the money was well spent in helping the brotherhood.

We appreciate your interest in PTP, and share your desire to serve the Lord faithfully. We also covet your prayers as we seek to oversee and guide this work. We never envisioned that it would grow to more than 1400 people from 37 states/nations or that the lessons preached there would literally go all over the world. We are humbled and honored to have the stewardship of one of the works God is using to help His children in this generation. His glory, the benefit of His kingdom, and the salvation of souls is our focus and desire.

We appreciate your work in the kingdom and are grateful for the sacrificial service you are rendering to the Lord.

In Christian love,

The elders of the Jacksonville church of Christ