The Hilliard Institute

The Hilliard Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation offering sensory education programing, experiential learning, and academic research and publishing while also supporting philanthropic initiatives through fundraising and educational training and activities—all under the umbrella of the concept of Educational Wellness. 

The Hilliard Institute. 4440 Savage Pointe Drive. Franklin, TN 37064

Email Dr. K. Mark Hilliard at mark.hilliardinstitute@gmail.com

or Professor Jessa R. Sexton at thehilliardpress@gmail.com.

Son of a Preacher Man Tour Update

April 20, 2026  /  Jessa Sexton

by Dr. K. Mark Hilliard

edited by Emilee Micah Butler

The Hilliard Institute for Educational Wellness is excited to announce that the Son of a Preacher Man Tour is continuing throughout 2026! We’re currently accepting requests for stops at various sites throughout the year. 

I started the year having already accepted five invitations for site visits and speaking engagements in Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Details will follow as the tour progresses. I’ll use Facebook and our Hilliard Institute blog to post details of each tour stop. 

There are four to five major aspects of this yearly tour that visits places like schools, libraries, farmer's markets, churches, and festivals. This year, our major aspects are as follows:

1. An honor and memorial to my father—an educator and preacher all of his life—going to sites and communities where he shared and preached the educational wellness philosophy, often through holistic Biblical teaching and examples.

2. A methodology for sharing historical/educational presentations on the 1968–1972 Jesus People Movement, sharing from my perspective and using this information in such a way as to make the movement's unique sensory learning philosophy beneficial to current audiences.

3. A sensory education program for giving away free Bibles and educational materials of a variety of types to represent the holistic aspect of Biblical teaching toward physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. (The tour focuses on meeting with unusual groups and unusual festivals where the Bible may not be commonly used—such as hippie and art festivals. At each festival, I work with individuals in my Bible tent and help them to select the best Bible for them, related to their personal needs. I also present lessons and workshops on a variety of sensory teaching, learning, physical, and spiritual topics.) 

4. A way of more effectively using the skill of storytelling as a high-quality sensory teaching and learning tool—one that benefits most audiences, both young and old—as one of my directives this year is the use of "In the Beginning Stories." 

In February and March, the first stops of this tour began with past supporters. After that the tour plans to attend:

  • a new art festival in South Carolina

  • a farmer's market, library, and school in the heart of the mountains of Jellico, Tennessee

  • a hippie festival in Maggie Valley, North Carolina

  •  the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina

This year, I also wish to involve student interns in some of these festivals as a method of training the trainer to create future sensory and learning teachers, educators, and missionaries. 

Other large festivals are currently being contacted with plans to attend at least two more. Feel free to contact me (markhilliard57@gmail.com) if you know of another opportunity! And keep me in your prayers throughout the tour.

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