Meet the 2025 Omark Preaching Competition winners

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and He himself is the Prince of Peace. But what does it mean to be a peacemaker in a world marked by division, hostility, and hate? This year’s Edwin J. Omark Preaching Competition sermons explored what it means to be peacemakers and how to live this role out in contemporary settings.

For the annual competition, Bethel Seminary students submit sermons that are judged on clear communication style, biblical exegesis, personal spiritual formation of both student and audience, and an understanding of the audience or context. First, second, and third-place winners receive scholarship money, and first place is given the opportunity to preach live at Bethel Seminary’s Preaching Showcase. Also recognized are an honorable mention recipient and a winner from Ministry Scholars—Bethel’s 3+2 ministry degree pathway.

“We want to prepare students for serving a congregation in a preaching ministry,” says Seminary Dean Peter Vogt. “We also want to demonstrate the importance of preaching and highlight Bethel’s historic commitment to preaching. We hope all participants get valuable feedback that will allow them to grow in their preaching and encourage them in that ministry.” 

Meet this year’s winners.

Ann Lees CAPS’16, S’25

A full-time chaplain at Catholic Eldercare in Northeast Minneapolis, Lees is in Bethel’s M.A. in ministry program. In her sermon, she posed the question: “How—in the midst of a constant barrage of negative information—do we show up as Christians?” Using Mark’s words in Mark 12:28, she said we must bring heaven to earth through our actions. Practically, this means spending time with each other—noticing when someone is suffering instead of looking at our phones. “Being a peacemaker means standing in the convictions of our faith and trusting that I know who I am despite what this world says about me,” she preached. “We have three jobs: love Jesus, love and care for others, become the living gospel.”

She says participating in the competition was challenging, but she is passionate about this year’s theme and shared relevant parts of her story, including losing her father unexpectedly last year. “I like to share real-life experiences and how those help us to draw near to God and where to see God in the world,” says Lees. “I got amazing feedback—very affirming and encouraging—from the judges. They helped encourage me to feel that I do have a voice.” She plans to continue using that voice as a chaplain after seminary.

Justin Patton S’27

An audio engineer and audio instructor in the music department at Murray State University in Kentucky, Patton also leads worship and occasionally speaks at Christian Community Church in Murray, Kentucky. He’s working toward his master’s in Christian thought and wrote his sermon around Matthew 10:34: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” He preached that the crux of peace—reconciliation with God—is the cross and nothing—not the right answers, love of family, even physical death—takes precedence over the cross. “Christians don’t fight the way the world fights. We endure with hope, patience, and peace because of faith in something the world doesn’t see,” he preached. “We stand at the pointy end of the sword like our master did. We take up our cross. We don’t put others on crosses.” 

At the end, he challenged his listeners to consider the ways others see them: “Have they seen your willingness to place your favorite things second and the person of Christ second? Can they see that your relationship with Christ is about people first and not agendas?”

His plans after seminary are open. “I hope I can use the gifts I've been given and the experiences I have to further Christ's kingdom,” he says.

Lydia Kaiser S’27

Kaiser has spent much of her life in ministry, serving with Child Evangelism Fellowship, co-founding a Christian ranch that uses horses to help at-risk youth, and now working for Life Focus Communications, a ministry focused on Bible-centered trauma healing. She lives in St. Louis and is in Bethel’s M.A. in ministry program. 

Crafting her sermon around James 3:13-18, she preached that the wise person is a peacemaker and then laid out the actions a wise person must take—work at making peace, have peace in their heart, and judge impartially. To do all these things, we must humbly ask God for heavenly wisdom. “For truth to be heard, how we treat each other must take priority over the issue of disagreement,” she concluded. 

Kaiser participated in the competition last year as well and was especially thankful for the cash prize this year. “I was able to use it to come visit the campus and meet in person with several faculty,” she says. “As an online student, I greatly appreciate the fact that I can do seminary through the online program, but it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to visit campus.” After seminary, Kaiser hopes to combine her passions and education to become a chaplain.

Charlene Healy S’27

A school psychologist for 22 years in Minnesota, Healy is in Bethel’s Master of Divinity program with hopes of leading a women’s ministry and writing healing books for women after graduation.

“This year’s sermon topic was both easy and hard,” she says. “We all want peace, but few know how to get it, or keep it. I decided to go back to basics.” In her sermon, she highlighted the seven verbs of having peace revealed in 2 Chronicles 7:14: humble ourselves, pray, seek, turn, hear, forgive, and heal. On a day-to-day basis, this means spending time in Scripture—specifically Proverbs and Psalms—being aware of our thoughts, finding our purpose, and always living gratefully. 

“I end with a challenge for people to heal the relationships that can be repaired or healed, which will bring peace and comfort to our weary minds,” says Healy. “Forgiveness doesn't mean it didn't happen or didn't matter. Forgiveness means that we take a bolt cutter to the tether that is holding us to our anger from the past. Forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean reconciliation either. Trust is earned over a long period of time.”

Healy participated in last year’s competition as well, wanting to sharpen her preaching skills. “Public speaking is the easy part for me,” she says. “Getting it right from the Word of God and speaking confidently to my audience of one is the part I need to keep practicing.” 

Levi Case ’24, S’27

Case grew up in the Twin Cities and recently got married. As part of Bethel’s Ministry Scholars program—3+2 ministry degree pathway—he graduated last year from the College of Arts & Sciences with a major in biblical and theological studies and is now pursuing his Master of Divinity at Bethel Seminary. He is involved at his church and owns a lawn mowing and landscaping business. 

In his sermon, he noted that Martin Luther King Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mahatma Ghandi were all peacekeepers, but they were peacemakers first—peacekeepers put out fires, but peacemakers keep fires from starting in the first place. He referenced Isaiah 26:3—“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you”— and then questioned what holds us back from being peacemakers. He suggested we need time, community, and an Upper Room like the disciples—a place “to have your feet washed and to ask God intimate questions.”

“There are spiritual forces working against what God wants to do and say through us, so we shouldn’t expect preaching to be a breeze, but rather a spiritual battle of proclaiming God’s truth and the gospel,” he says of participating in the competition. “I’ve learned not to rely on my own understanding but to submit to the wisdom of God as revealed in the scriptures and seek wisdom and insight from many other believers.” 

After seminary, Case and his wife would like to go into ministry together. He says: “She has a huge heart for missions, and I have a love for the Bible that we would both like to share with the church, whether it be here in America or another country!”

Listen online

Interested in hearing more? You can view this year’s Omark Preaching Competition sermons in their entirety and learn more about the process of participating.

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