The Best Pulpits For Churches

I recently led my church on a search for a new pulpit. So I thought it would be fun to share what I learned on the way. I’ll show you some examples from well-known pastors and the best pulpits that I found. Hopefully, this will help you find the best podium for your church too.

There’s no shortage of options for churches looking for a new pulpit. However, they all basically fit one of five pulpit styles: 

1. Traditional Wood
2. Modern Acrylic
3. Modern Metal
4. Pub Table
5. Barstool

Let’s look over some of the best ones I’ve found in each of these five categories.

1. Traditional Wood

Traditional podiums are made of wood. These are what you would expect to see in a more traditional style church. Some people love the nostalgia of the more formal feeling that they give. It looks and feels more like you are in a church.

Although this style isn’t my favorite, a lot of people love them and it works for their church.

For example, John MacArthur plants himself behind a hefty wooden pulpit, and it works for him.

Kevin DeYoung also uses this style of pulpit. He preaches from a traditional wooden pulpit that works for his style of church.

So if I were looking for a wooden pulpit, here are a few that I looked at.

This is the Displays2go Wood Speaking Lectern. I like the V-shape of this one. It still looks formal but has more of a modern shape. If you want to go a little bit more modern while keeping that traditional wood feel, it also comes in black.

It’s has a nice shelf where you could set your Bible, sermon notes, and even has enough room for a glass of water if you need it. In addition, there’s a drawer that could be handy for storing a microphone, notes, or whatever you want to stick in there.

Now if you want to go for a really traditional style, here’s another one.

This is the Church Furniture Maple Hardwood Standing Full Lectern. It has a nice built-in extra shelf, is made of real wood, and looks exactly like what you’d expect a traditional pulpit to look like.

One of the things you want to look at is the height. This is 44 inches tall. So make sure you measure how tall you want your podium to be. Think about the people who are going to be using this podium and make sure you don’t get one that’s too tall or too short.

2. Modern Acrylic

The appeal of an acrylic podium is that you can see through it. It makes for less of a barrier between you and your audience, giving more of a modern vibe.

Craig Groeschel uses an acrylic podium. It has a sleek metal base, but you can see through top part.

The nice thing about Groeschel’s podium is that it’s not too tall. So it doesn’t obstruct your view of him as much, and when you get a closeup shot from the camera, it is barely in the frame. However, if you look at your notes a lot when you preach, this might be too low for you.

Here’s another example of this style of podium from Derwin Gray. His is nearly identical to Groeschel’s but with a different colored acrylic.

If you like these acrylic podiums, I found one that’s pretty comparable. I don’t know if it’s the exact podium that they use, but it’s close.

This is the AmplyVox SN3196 Acrylic Lectern. It can hold up to 40 pounds, stands at 40 inches high, and has a nice 24 inches wide surface for your notes.

If I were looking for an acrylic podium, this would be my choice.

3. Modern Metal

Metal podiums give a modern, industrial look to your stage. Their construction also does a good job allowing the audience to see through the base, making for less of a barrier between the pastor and the congregation than a traditional pulpit.

This is the podium that David Platt uses. It is a solid metal truss podium, which resembled the truss frames you’ll see at most concerts to hold lights, speakers, and video screens.

This is the same style of podium that we decided to purchase for our church. It may even be the exact same one that Platt uses.

From my experience preaching with it, there are a few pros and cons. It looks great and is built like a tank.

This thing will last forever and could probably support my entire body weight. However, because of that, it’s a bit on the heavy side. I’m able to move it by myself, but I’m a fairly strong, young guy.

It’s also 47 inches tall. So this is a little bit on the taller end as far as podiums go. I’m 6 feet tall, so it fits me just fine. But if you or your pastor are shorter, it might be taller than you’d like. So be aware of that before you buy it.

We bought the Displays2go Steel Truss Lectern. The little shelf underneath is also handy. It is a great spot to set a water bottle if you need one.

It also comes in silver if black is not your thing. The silver could also look great with colored stage lights reflecting off of it.

This is the podium style that we chose and that I would highly recommend. But there’s another style that I may like even more.

4. Pub Table

Pub tables are becoming increasingly popular right now among preachers. Pub tables give off a far more casual feel. Most pastors will stand next to the table instead of behind it. So it kind almost removes all barriers between the preacher and the audience.

This makes the pastor more vulnerable, but also more real, relaved, and casual. It’s simply a more modern and trendy style.

For example, this what Louie Giglio uses. He has a square pub table with a metal bottom and wooden top. It looks really nice and almost fades into the background when he’s not looking at it.

Another preacher who uses this is Mike Todd. His pub table has a round glass top and a silver base.

Personally, I’ve learned that I prefer to use a pub table when I preach. I sometimes use a pub table with a marble top. I would pick a different one, but we already had this one sitting around our church and it does the job.

When I use a pub table I feel like there’s less of a barrier between me and the audience. I can interact with them a little more, and be more animated in my delivery when I’m standing off to the side.

If you’re looking for more of that, what Mike Todd has? Here is a nice one with a glass top.

This is the Flash Furniture Adjustable Heright Glass Table. As the name says, a great feature of this table is its adjustable height. You can lower it to 33.5 inches or raise it up to 41 inches tall.

However, if I were buying a new pub table, my pick would be the HOMCOM Rustic Industrial Pub Table.

It looks increadible and has good reviews. I love the real elm wood top, and solid metal construction. It has that modern rustic industrial look that I love.

So if I were picking a pub table and or anything to preach on, this would be my number one pick. It’s a beautiful, sturdy table that will hold up for a long time.

However, some pastors want to throw the table away entirely, and that brings us to that final style option.

5. Barstool

Not a lot of pastors are willing to give this style a try because you don’t have the safety net. If you’re sitting on a stool, there’s nowhere to put sermon notes. You’ve got to be able to preach almost entirely with no notes.

Although, you do have some flexibility to stand near the stool and set a bible or your notes on it until you need them.

Andy Stanley is a pastor who has popularize this style. Without any notes in front of him, he will sit on a barstool next to a TV screen that he uses to reference his main points and Bible verses.

It’s a really cool style if you are brave enough to attempt it. I’ve done it a few times before but I like having a Bible with me with one page of notes tucked in it. I’ll simply hold the Bible or set it on the stool when not using it.

This Flash Furniture Barstool is a great, affordable option.

I have a few of these in the kitchen at my house. Mine are blue, but there are a ton of colors you can choose from. They’re simple, sturdy stools that I absolutely recommend.

However, if you want to step it up a notch and go a little bit nicer, I would pick the Baxton Studio Bar Stools.

They have a similar style to the stools at my house, except they add a beautiful oak top and a short backrest. Much like my favorite pub table, these have that vintage industrial style that always wins me over. So this would be my top pick for a stool.

These are my favorites, but I want to know about you. What’s your favorite pulpit or podium style?