About Me

My Ministry

My name is Kerry McGonigal. I currently teach homiletics at Bob Jones University, and I absolutely love my job. I work with an amazing group of undergraduate students and have the privilege of helping them develop and refine their philosophy and practice of preaching. My desire is for these young men to fulfill the biblical injunction to “preach the word”–accurately, clearly, and fervently. My students will tell you that I am passionate about text-centered, contextual, and Christological preaching.

My Experience

I have been teaching homiletics since 2003 and have listened to and evaluated over 2,000 in-class sermons. However, my interest in preaching is not merely theoretical and academic. I have been preaching now on a regular basis for almost 20 years in various contexts. I have preached itinerantly up and down the East Coast of the United States in hundreds of local churches. I have preached evangelistically and in local churches across the Atlantic–England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, Russia, Belarus, and Spain. I have preached my share of single-shot sermons over the years and have also preached pastorally for an extended period of time as pulpit supply. 

My Philosophy

My philosophy of preaching did not come primarily from my 11 undergraduate and graduate credit hours in homiletics. Nor has it come from my reading of many books, although, I must say, that Preaching & Preachers and The Supremacy of God in Preaching were both extremely foundational in giving me a heightened sense of the gravity and glory of preaching. For me my philosophy of preaching was formed up over time through means of sustained and systematic biblical exposition supported by personal example. It was deeply engrained in me week after week, text after text, sermon after sermon, book series after book series as I attended Mount Calvary Baptist Church as a college student and where I later served as an elder and regular Sunday School teacher for 5 years. That’s where I learned the why and how of expository preaching.

My Education

I have a B.S. in English Education, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degree from Bob Jones University. I wrote my dissertation on “A Philosophy and Methodology for Preaching an Expository Book Series Governed by Apostolic Purpose based on Rhetorical Analysis: A Case Study of 1 Peter.” Basically I examined Peter’s rhetorical goals and strategies in writing his first epistle and then derived a philosophy of preaching from Peter’s letter. I then applied that philosophy back to preaching through 1 Peter in a contemporary context. The process, though intense, was extremely rewarding. My goal is to apply this same approach to other books of the New Testament.

My Family

I am married to an extraordinarily gifted and ministry-minded woman and have three daughters.

My Church

I have served in pastoral ministry in the Greenville, SC area for over a decade, both as a non-staff elder at Mount Calvary Baptist Church & as Pastor for Preaching & Vision at Beth Haven Baptist Church. I am currently an active member at Christ Fellowship Cherrydale.

My Future

My plans for the future include continuing to teach at Bob Jones University.

Sola Deo Gloria!