Devotional writing is vital to the spiritual growth and health of Christians in our scattered and busy culture but few ministry students receive specific training or practical experience in this area. We want to help students called to ministry improve their writing skills and gain experience in using this important ministry tool.

During Student Writers Month, students will:

• Have the opportunity to write on an assigned passage of scripture, receiving critique and feedback from experienced writers and editors. 
• Have access to weekly group coaching meetings with our staff and special guests. (Meetings are recommended but not required.) 
• Have their resulting work published as part of our ministry, reaching over 3000 readers per month.
• Be provided with a small stipend/scholarship for their work.

Eligibility
To be eligible, an individual must be pursuing a ministry-based career and must be a current or recent* student at an accredited institution of higher learning. *Students graduating in May of 2023 may still participate.

Note: This program is currently at capacity, but we are accepting a limited number of overflow students. These students must participate in the training/coaching meetings and then will be given a writing assignment outside the time period of this program.

How to Apply
Interested students should fill out the form at this link. Note: The form will request information to verify eligibility, such as your degree program, a professor’s contact information for reference, and a link to a writing sample.

If you have further questions about eligibility or filling out the form, send an email to info@theparkforum.org. For more detailed information please see our information sheet published in GoogleDocs.

Below are the profiles of the students who participated in Student Writers Month in 2022.

From undergrads to post-grads, our Student Writers are a testament to their generations and to their institutions of learning. May you be blessed by their words. Our writers for the most current year are listed below. For writers from previous years (2020 and 2021) follow this link.

2022 Student Writer Profiles

Jillian Brown — B.H. Carroll Theological Institute
Jilian is married to Matt and they have two sons, Ethan and Evan. She recently completed the Master of Divinity degree at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. She is passionate about writing, teaching theology, and helping people discover their spiritual gifts. Though her family moved to East Texas last summer, she continued to write Bible study curriculum for their prior church, FBC Lewisville. In her free time, Jilian enjoys singing and playing piano, traveling, cooking, and reading. 

John Paul Davis — Truett Theological Seminary
Rev. John Paul Davis is a current graduate student at Truett Seminary. He is the founder, owner, and operator of Family Affair Ministries (F.A.M.), a company dedicated to transforming the American family through faith-based marital coaching. After leading the Marriage Ministry with his wife at their church for four years starting in 2013, John and his wife recognized the need for faith-based marriage ministry as a community need in order to cultivate a thriving family unit. Rev. Davis is passionate about helping men and women develop the skills and confidence needed to cultivate a healthy marriage by applying faith-based principles. Rev. Davis believes that, like businesses and sports, “Every Team Needs A Coach!” Rev. Davis and his wife have been married for 20 years and have a blended family of four children and three grandchildren.

Christian Englert — Dallas Baptist University
Christian Englert is a student in the B.A./M.A. program at Dallas Baptist University. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Biblical studies and a Master’s in Theological Studies. Christian believes he is called to be a voice on topics, such as struggle within life, as well as serve toward the unification and advancement of the Church. 

Kingsley East Gibbs — Truett Theological Seminary
Kingsley East Gibbs is a recent Master of Divinity graduate from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Her background is in writing and rhetoric (BA, Baylor University). She has worked in academic book publishing and nonprofit work on hunger and migration. Kingsley now serves as the Minister to Youth at DaySpring Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. She is passionate about storytelling, trauma healing, creation care, and embodying the gospel message to love her neighbors. She loves doing anything on the water, hiking with her husband Nathan, and making up songs about her pets Remi and Oliver. 

Savannah Green — Truett Theological Seminary
Savannah Green is from Olive Branch, Mississippi, and is pursuing her Master of Divinity in World Christianity and Witness at George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Delta State University in 2019. She has enjoyed working in the Dean’s Suite and as a Graduate Assistant to Dr. Michael W. Stroope and Dr. Dustin Benac. Savannah is a GFM Campus Staff Minister with InterVarsity at Baylor to both graduate and international students. She is a member at Grace Church Hewitt. Savannah loves doing ministry through the arts. She has been published by Eight Hundred Words, Windrose Magazine, The Park Forum, and The Baptist Convention of New England. Savannah also shares her writing on her website Words in the Crevice. Her self-published poetry books Seaway and Oasis are available on Amazon.

Robert Hillier — Truett Theological Seminary
Robert is entering his third year at Truett Seminary. He is from Amarillo, TX and currently serves as the youth pastor at FBC West, just North of Waco. He has a passion for serving students and their families as well as having a deep knowledge of Scripture and theology in order to best educate his students. He loves all things superhero movies, Dallas sports, records, good coffee, Whataburger, and spending time with his girlfriend Elon and his dog Luna.

Carolyn Soto Jackson — Truett Theological Seminary
Carolyn Soto Jackson is an author, photographer, and an Associate Pastor of Our Fellowship Christian Church. In 2020, she began her studies for Master of Arts in Christian Ministry at Baylor University, George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Carolyn is married to Daniel Jackson, and she is also a dog mom to Moose. Most of all, Carolyn is an adventurer who is passionate about Jesus and enjoys documenting her travels through pen and portraits.

Bridget Jack Jeffries — Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Bridget Jack Jeffries is a PhD student in church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, working on a dissertation on Junia of Romans 16:7 while preparing for a ministry of researching, writing, and teaching. She holds a BA in classics from Brigham Young University (long story!) and an MA in American church history, also from Trinity. She volunteers as a Christian formation teacher at DeerGrove Covenant Church in Palatine, Illinois, and likes sci-fi, hamsters, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She is married with three children and her non-academic ministry interests include bioethics, people with disabilities, single parenting, interfaith dialogue, and the #MeToo / #ChurchToo movements.

JD McDonald — Truett Theological Seminary
JD McDonald is a Tennessean who now lives in Waco, Texas. A former social worker and 7 year youth minister with a MS in mental health counseling, he now is pursuing pastoral ministry at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary. JD is passionate about seeing the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. He can be found volunteering in immigration ministry, chatting in common areas, or playing guitar, hiking, eating, and fishing with loved ones. 

Thobile Mogane — Christian Family International Church Bible College
Thobile Mogane is the Center Manager of Dingleydale Youth And Childline Center and a Youth pastor. She is in her second year of study at Christian Family International Church Bible College. She is passionate about serving and giving back to the community and is a comforter, restorer, and rebuilder.

Lauren Mulford — Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
Lauren Mulford is studying for her M. Div. at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in hopes to work in hospice care. She has been married for 13 years and has seven children. She calls New York City home and has lived across the United States from Florida to Virginia to California and several states in-between. She has been a dancing missionary having danced professionally and traveled across the nation to share the gospel through the medium of ballet. She desires to see “the least of these” brought close to Christ. She especially desires to help those members of society nearing the end of life, but who perhaps find themselves alone, die compassionately and with peace. 

Dennis Nicholson — Liberty University
After several years of college, Dennis still hasn’t found a response to those asking why he’s majoring in mathematics when he’s aiming for pastoral ministry. Nonetheless, as he approaches his final year of study, he’s confident that he’ll find a good answer someday. In the meantime, he enjoys sifting through the works of St. Augustine, binging all manner of Japanese media, and falling in love with Ephesians 3.

Jane Schaible — Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Jane Schaible has taught the Bible at her local church, First Evangelical Free, for nearly 14 years. She has enjoyed serving in women’s ministry, preschool ministry, and adult education. Her studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School have fueled her passion to build up the local church through faithfully conveying God’s word and encouraging her fellow sisters in the EFCA. Jane and her husband, Daniel, have been married for 15 years, and have two children, ages 6 and 14. She’s excited about homeschooling her first grader, loves to go camping with her family, and enjoys a good Nancy Drew mystery every now and then.

Carolyn Westendorf — Bob Jones University
Carolyn is a stay-at-home mom of three little boys with a passion to study the Bible and share what she has learned. Since becoming a Christian, she felt lead to write and teach the Bible. In high school, she jumped at an opportunity to teach Bible lessons to her peers, creating her own lessons. From there she honed her writing skills, minoring in Creative Writing. She has poems published in Assisi Journal and in The Rockford Review under her maiden name, Wetch. She also wrote for The Park Forum’s Student Writers Month in 2021. Currently, she is working on the Teaching Bible Graduate Certificate at Bob Jones University.

Karen Yarnell — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Karen Yarnell finds great joy in studying and teaching God’s Word. The Lord has given her a variety of opportunities to teach, including the local church, academic classrooms, and retreat settings. She has both  a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Divinity degrees. Karen dearly loves her family, her husband, Malcolm, children, and grandson, and considers them to be a very precious gift from God.