● Preach Like the Greats · 84 of 87
Preach Like Russell
Johnson.
Frame it first, coin one line, prove it fast, and finish with a shared declaration.
- ✓6 of his sermons, studied start to finish
- ✓Ten steps to preach the way he did
- ✓A fill-in outline in his shape, 9 pages
Where should we send it?
Fill this in and the PDF is yours on the next screen.
— Why he’s one of the greats
Frame it first, coin one line, prove it fast, and finish with a shared declaration.
The Pentecostal church-planting surge in the Pacific Northwest. Russell Johnson grew up in Seattle as a pastor’s son, led a young-adult service at Cedar Park Church in Bothell, and in 2014 planted The Pursuit NW with his wife, Marija, in a barn in Snohomish. He preaches as a Spirit-filled Pentecostal who credits Kenneth Hagin’s teaching on faith and expects God to act now, in his own region. His secret: he frames the sermon before he opens the Bible. A Washington property law, a 1991 comedy, Babylon’s 1,000-mile march, or a story from the airport sets up the problem, and the main text often doesn’t arrive until a third of the way in. Then he packs the message with short contrast lines people can repeat (“Your career is what you’re paid for. Your calling is what you’re made for.”), proves each claim with a quick chain of Bible stories, and lands the main point inside a funny story where he is the punchline. He closes with a first-person declaration that the whole room can say with him.
- 2014Planted The Pursuit NW in a Snohomish barn
- 200+Congregants by 2017 (The Herald)
- 4Campuses he named in Feb 2026
What makes his style unique
“Johnson’s passion rose throughout the service like a crescendo of faith.”
— Who wrote this
We’re pastors. We’ve had your Monday.
Pastor Center is built and written by pastors — a lead pastor who planted churches, and a church planter who grew one to 4,000 in four years. The same team teaches 9 free courses and 164 lessons. This guide is the short version.
- 9free courses
- 164lessons, all free
- ARCChurches partner
— What you get
What’s inside
Preach Like Russell Johnson — Frame it first, coin one line, prove it fast, and finish with a shared declaration..
- 01Why he’s one of the greatsThe story, the numbers and what made his style his own.
- 02What he does6 of his sermons, studied start to finish, and the shape they share.
- 03How he does itTen steps to preach the way he did.
- 04His outlineWhere the time goes, movement by movement.
- 05Write one like Russell JohnsonA fill-in outline in his shape, ready for your own text.
- 06SourcesEvery quote and number, cited.
— The plan
Three steps. Starting today.
Tell us where to send it
One short form. The PDF is on the very next screen — no trial, no card, nothing to wait for.
Study him in one sitting
9 pages: 6 of his sermons studied, ten steps, and an outline you fill in with your own text.
Preach it Sunday
Fill in the outline with your own text and preach your next sermon the way Russell Johnson would.
Get your free copy
One minute, and the PDF is yours.
Built for this.
You just studied one of the greats. Sermons helps you do the same work every week: research on your passage in minutes, a library of every sermon you’ve preached, and a coach that hears your rehearsal before Sunday.
7-day free trial · Card required · Cancel anytime
Want to dive deeper?
The whole thing, taught end to end — free, no trial required.
Free course · 17 lessons · ~3 hrsElite PreachingThe flagship preaching course. Manuscript discipline, research workflow, writing in your voice, and delivery that holds a distracted room.Watch the course free →
Free book · 203 pages
Want all 87? Get the whole book free.
Every guide in one PDF, from Clement of Rome to the pastors filling arenas today, plus the family tree of preaching and the eight styles, beat by beat.
Keep going through the greats
87 preachers, 87 free PDFs. See all 87 →
