Fall Sermon Series Trends: What Churches Are Preaching

This article comes from episode 2 of Designed for Sunday, our short weekly podcast on what churches everywhere are preaching and designing. Listen to the episode here.

In the biggest week PixelChurch has ever seen, 61 churches started 138 designs across 86 different sermon series. That is a live snapshot of what churches are actually planning for fall, and three clear trends fell out of it.

What are churches preaching this fall?

Foundations. Hebrews was the most designed around book of the week, with six churches building series on it, and Acts was right behind with five. Add Ephesians, plus churches down in Judges and Joshua, and the direction is unmistakable: heading into fall, churches are reaching for the bedrock, who Jesus is, how the early church lived, what the faith is built on.

The back to school energy showed up directly too, student series with game day themes, new semester kickoffs, that kind of thing. Fall is the second January for churches, and the preaching calendar shows it. If you are still deciding on your own fall direction, our seasonal planning pages map out the windows worth designing for.

Why is big typography taking over church design?

The most type forward style on PixelChurch was picked 25 times that week, double the week before, and it was the clear number one. The rest of the top of the chart moved the same way: bold, readable, the words are the art.

There is a good reason. Type first design is the most forgiving style there is. It reads perfectly on a screen, it shrinks down to a phone without falling apart, and it does not depend on finding the perfect photo or illustration. If you are the person doing your church's graphics on top of three other jobs, a huge confident title on a simple background is the safest move in design, and right now it is also the most current one.

Should you plan fall as a season or week by week?

The Hebrews and Acts wave says churches are planning in arcs, eight or ten weeks with one big idea. Your visuals should do the same. One series look that carries the whole arc means the invite card in week two and the sermon slide in week nine are obviously the same story. A series look is a promise that next week belongs to this week, and it is worth making that promise on purpose.

What can a single word do for a series?

The strangest pattern of the week: two churches independently named their series Dunamis, the Greek word for power. And two Spanish speaking churches each built a series called Quebrando el Alabastro, breaking the alabaster jar. Both twin titles of the week came from outside English.

A single deep word is a gift to both the preacher and the designer. It is short on the screen and deep in the text, one clean design and two months of unpacking. And the Spanish twin carries its own lesson: if part of your congregation prays in Spanish, design in Spanish, not as a translation bolted on afterward, but as its own beautiful thing.

A fall series planning checklist

1. Pick the arc first: one big idea, eight to ten weeks.
2. Choose the anchor text. Hebrews, Acts, and Ephesians are carrying this fall for a reason.
3. Name it short. One deep word beats a long clever phrase.
4. Commit to one series look for the whole arc, screens, social, and print included.
5. If your church is bilingual, plan the Spanish version as a first class design, not an afterthought.
6. Get everything designed before the series starts, so week one launches with the full package.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most popular sermon series for fall?

Right now the data points to foundations themes: series through Hebrews, Acts, and Ephesians, plus back to school series for students and families. Churches are treating fall as a fresh start season and choosing texts about what the faith is built on.

What visual style should I use for a fall sermon series?

Bold typography first designs are the current leader, and they are also the most practical choice for small teams because they stay readable at every size. Moody atmospheric looks still work well for reflective texts. Match the mood of the art to the mood of the passage.

How far ahead should a church design its fall series graphics?

Aim to have the full series package done two to three weeks before launch, so the invite push can start while the current series is finishing. If you are behind, you are not stuck: type your series title into PixelChurch and you can have full series concepts to react to in minutes, free to try.