How Michael Koulianos Preaches: One Person, Not a Topic
Michael Koulianos preaches one person, not a topic. We studied six of his sermons, most from Jesus Image Church, from around 2021 to VOUS Conference in 2026. Whatever the text, each one stirs hunger first, lets Scripture define the word in front of him by Jesus and the cross, and closes with a costly yes.
Who Michael Koulianos is
Koulianos was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and raised Greek Orthodox. He came to Christ at 12 and began preaching regularly at 16. He traveled for years with his father-in-law, evangelist Benny Hinn, then founded Jesus Image in Orlando in 2007 and later Jesus Image Church.
Jesus Image has 2.2 million YouTube subscribers and about 570 million views (jesusimage.tv, 2026). He launched Jesus School, a ministry training program in Orlando, in 2020, and was an organizer and speaker at The Send at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium in 2019, where organizers reported more than 50,000 people. He hosts the annual Jesus conference and wrote Holy Spirit: The One Who Makes Jesus Real (2017), The Jesus Book and Jesus 365.
The shape of a Koulianos sermon
Every sermon we studied starts with a pastoral charge or an aside before the main text, often with his own testimony. The main text can come surprisingly late. He spends the first part of the hour stirring hunger.
Then he chains three or more passages around the main text. In some of them, church members read the passages at microphones while he stops and comments. Often the room says lines back: “There is more,” “God is mighty.”
The cross defines the theme every time, whether the theme is glory, manhood, humility or greatness. Whatever the text, it ends up in the same place: “If you’re wondering what God is like, look no further than Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
Along the way he tells stories of mentors and heroes of the faith, returns to a refrain, and mixes holy fear with quick, self-mocking humor aimed at church culture. He closes with his longest personal story or a call to give Jesus everything. A formal invitation to come forward is rare.
What made his preaching different
Readers at the mic
Members read each passage at the microphone while he stops and comments. The Bible is literally in the people’s hands.
Jesus defines it
Glory, manhood and humility are all defined by the cross. In “The Man, Christ Jesus,” manhood is measured by Jesus, not culture.
Costly yes
He closes with his own story of surrender or a call forward. The longest personal story in the sermon often comes right at the end.
What others said
“Baba, what are you going to preach on today? ... Probably Jesus.”
— His children, as he tells it in the sermon “Humility”
“I love that you are serious about God.”
— A pastor friend’s phone call, as he recounts it in “Deeper Still,” c. 2025
What to take into your own pulpit
Preach a person
Koulianos lets every theme lead to Jesus. Ask what your text shows about him before you ask what it asks of us.
Put the Bible in their hands
Having members read the passages turns the room from an audience into participants.
Let the cross define the word
Glory, greatness and manhood mean something different when the cross defines them. Start your definitions there.
Those are the ideas. The guide turns them into ten steps you can follow this week, plus the sermons we studied and a fill-in outline in his shape.
Free PDF · Preach Like the Greats
Learn to preach like Michael Koulianos.
This post is the overview. The guide has the research and the method.
- The 6 sermons we studied, start to finish
- Ten steps to preach the way he does
- His sermon outline, movement by movement
- A fill-in template for your own text, 9 pages
Common questions
What is Michael Koulianos’s preaching style?
Christ-centered and revivalist. He stirs hunger with a pastoral charge and testimony, chains passages often read by members at the mic, defines each theme by the cross, and mixes holy fear with self-mocking humor.
How does Michael Koulianos structure a sermon?
A pastoral charge or aside first, the main text sometimes well into the message, three or more passages chained around it, a refrain, stories of mentors and heroes of the faith, and a close with a personal story of surrender or a call to give Jesus everything.
What is Jesus Image?
The ministry Koulianos founded in Orlando in 2007. It later grew to include Jesus Image Church and Jesus School, a ministry training program launched in 2020.