2025 Writing Contest
Deadline: Entries must be received by August 15, 2025

It isn’t always easy to obey God, especially when we can’t see the purpose or outcome of what He’s telling us to do. In 1200-1500 words, tell us your story (or someone else’s) about trusting God and choosing obedience. Were you hesitant to obey at first? Why? What about God’s character allowed you to trust and obey Him? What did obeying God require of you? What was the outcome? How did choosing to obey impact your walk with God and/or your relationship with others?

Please include a short author’s biography and 2-3 personal photos (if relevant) that complement your story.

1st Prize: $300 and we publish your article
2nd Prize: $200 and we publish your article
3rd Prize: $100 and we publish your article

Submissions must be received by August 15, 2025.
Winners will be announced in the January 2026 issue.

Email submissions to editor@todayschristianliving with Contest Submission in the subject line.
Or send by mail to: Today’s Christian Living, ATTN: Editor, P.O. Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945

*All submissions must be previously unpublished and your own work. By entering, you are granting us permission to publish your story if you win. Winning submissions become the property of Today’s Christian Living and may be edited. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, only winners will be notified.

Tips for Submitting a Winning Entry

  • To write a compelling, award-winning article for the annual writing contest, study stories from past issues of Today’s Christian Living. Today’s Christian Living is an inspirational magazine, so we focus on articles showing how Jesus has transformed a person’s life. These stories illustrate how their lives glorify God rather than emphasizing information, preaching, or teaching. (We generally reserve our teaching and informational articles for our staff columnists.)
  • Before writing a story about someone else, make sure you have their permission. Then allow them to read the story and approve it before you submit the story. Even if you feel you are being complimentary, they may not want their story in print.
  • Rather than trying to cover too many details about a person’s life, focus on just one or two main events and develop those in more depth. Readers are more able to relate to a story when focused on a specific situation rather than giving a laundry list of general facts about a person or a ministry. Help the reader visualize the story through vivid details. You can also include dialogue to help engage readers in the story.
  • With your contest submission, include three to five quality, high-resolution color photos to illustrate the article, a quality, high-resolution color photo (headshot) of the author, and a brief author bio of 35 to 50 words.
  • Photos must be copyright-free, color digital images that are high-resolution (at least 5” x 7” at 300 dpi). If you send a 72 dpi image that’s 3″ x 3″ on screen, it will be less than one inch when it is converted to 300 dpi for print. So, it’s important that the image is large enough to convert. Photos do not need to be taken by a professional, as most digital cameras are capable of taking high quality photos, but make sure the camera is set to the highest resolution setting. High resolution print quality photos are generally 2 to 3 MB or larger. However, to ensure photos are able to be emailed, keep each photo less than 8 MB. The standard digital camera format JPEG is the best format to submit. Keep in mind that good composition, lighting, and focus are essential to good photography.
  • Rights and Requirements: Do not submit articles that you have written for other publications. All articles and photos must be exclusive to Today’s Christian Living, and the content must be original. All completed articles are subject to editing for space, style, and content. Additional rights and requirements are outlined in an Author’s Contract, provided to writers upon article acceptance. Contracts must be signed and returned.
  • Stories and photos may be sent via email to: editor@todayschristianliving.org Include Contest Submission in the subject line.
    Or send by mail to: Today’s Christian Living, ATTN: Editor, PO Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945.