About Pro Preacher
Founder – Brandon Hilgemann
Hi, my name is Brandon. My last name is hard to pronounce (hill-guh-men). I was born in Minnesota and raised in Arizona. I was blessed to be raised going to church multiple days every week with my family. I loved it and still do. I was born on a Sunday at 9 a.m., as my mom once joked, “just in time for church.”
Since 2007, I’ve served as a pastor in various roles, from some of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the United States on the church growth lists to new Church Plants and others in between.
I have an M.Div. from Phoenix Seminary and a BA in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University.
Currently, I’m serving at Arizona Community Church, a multi-generational church of over 1,200 people in Tempe, AZ. And I love being back home in Arizona with my wife and two kids.
Mission – Helping Pastors Preach Better
Pro Preacher exists to help you preach better. That has been our motto from the beginning.
I started ProPreacher.com as an anonymous blog in November 2012. I wanted to get better at preaching and knew that writing about what I was learning as I learned it would help me grow and maybe help others as well (although I doubted anyone would ever read it). You can hear more of the story in the video above.
I was shocked when articles began to get shared, and people noticed. But praise God; he has been able to use my work to help thousands of pastors around the world.
My primary mission in life is to preach the gospel and help others do the same.
So, I create articles, videos, podcast episodes, and resources to help pastors like me who hunger to grow to the best of their ability, all for God’s glory.
Beliefs – Historic Christian Faith
You’ll find my beliefs to be theologically conservative, aligned with the basic beliefs of the historic Christian faith.
Rubertus Meldenius, a 17th-century theologian, once said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” In the same way, I hold firmly to primary issues, loosely to secondary issues, and seek to do all things in a spirit of Christian love (charity).
Bible — The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God. It is our ultimate source of authority for all faith and practice. It doesn’t say everything about everything, but it contains everything we need to know in order to follow God fully. The best way to grow the church and reach the world is to faithfully preach the Word of God.
2 Tim 3:15-17, 4:2; 1 Pet 1:23-25; Heb 4:12; Jn 20:31
God — There is only one God. He is the all-powerful creator of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1, Heb 11:3). God exists eternally as three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit); each person is fully God; and there is only one God. He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable. He is also perfectly good, loving, merciful, holy, righteous, and just.
Matt 3:16-17, 28:19; Lk 1:35; 1 Jn 5:7; 2 Cor 13:14
Jesus — Jesus is God, eternally existing as the second person of the Trinity. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Though tempted in every way, he did not sin. He died on the cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins and satisfying the wrath of God. He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended to Heaven, and now sits at the right hand of the Father until the day when he will return.
Jn 1:1-2, 14, 2:1; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23, 28:6; Heb 4:15, 7:25, 10:19; Lk 1:1-4, 24:50-51; Rom 1:4, 3:23, 8:1; 1 Cor 15:3; Col 1:14; 1 Jn 1:7, 2:1-2; Acts 1:11; Ti 2:13; Rev 1:7, 11:15; Phil 2:9-11
Holy Spirit — The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He indwells all believers and is actively ministering in the world today, enabling and empowering the living of a life pleasing to God. He gives gifts to every believer for building up the Body of Christ.
Rom 8:9. 12:1-8; 1 Cor 6:19, 12:1-14; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:18; 1 Pet 4:1-10
Salvation — In Adam’s sin of disobedience to God, he incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death. He became subject to the wrath of God, became inherently corrupt, and incapable of doing what is acceptable to God, apart from divine grace. All humans are inherently sinful through Adam, and are subject to the same penalty for our sins. The sole condition for receiving everlasting life is faith in Christ. He died a substitutionary death on the cross for our sins and rose bodily from the dead. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone.
Gen 2:17; Rom 5:12-19; Eph 2:1-3; 4:18-19, 6:10-19; Mark 7:20-23; 1 Pet 5:3; Rev 12:9; Col 1:14, 2:13-15; Jn 1:12, 10:10, 11:25, 17:3; 2 Cor 5:1-10, 17; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Eph 2:8-10
Eternity — Christ will return one day to judge the living and the dead. All people will be resurrected: Christians to everlasting life in Heaven and eternal rewards, and non-believers to everlasting death in Hell and eternal punishment. Genuine believers hold multiple views of the end times, so while I have my leanings, I hold legitimate theories, such as the timing of the millennial reign, loosely.
Jn 5:24-29; 1 Cor 15:20-23; Rev 20:11-15
Church — The church is not a building. The church is the people of God. The Body of Christ is made up of all who put their faith in Jesus. We are called to worship God, build up believers, and proclaim the Gospel. A church exists anywhere true believers gather to rightly preach God’s Word, and administer the ordinances instituted by Jesus: baptism and communion.
Eph 4:4; Matt 16:16-18, 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:42-47; 1 Pet 2:9-10
Questions?
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