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 2024 may still participate.

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.

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

2024 Student Writer Profiles

Andrew Crawford — B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary
Andrew Crawford is a Master of Divinity student at B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary. Andrew is passionate about encouraging discipleship in his family and others around him and applying biblical truth to daily life. Andrew and his wife Amy live in Texas with their five children.

Annette Kendall — Assemblies of God Theological Seminary 
Annette Kendall is a PhD student of Biblical Theology at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. She is especially interested in the Old Testament and how it relates to contemporary issues. Annette is a native of the West African country of Ghana, and she loves to learn about other cultures and witness how various people can integrate their backgrounds into the setting in which they find themselves. Annette is married and the mother of one adult son. She enjoys reading, music, problem-solving, and immersing herself in nature. She is passionate about motivating people to maximize their potential. Her goal is to teach in an academic setting and to equip others to impact their world for God’s kingdom.

David Z. Blackwell — University of Edinburgh
David Z. Blackwell is a distance PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh in New Testament and Christian origins. David graduated with a BA in English – Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida, an MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a ThM in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary. His research interests include the reception of Davidic traditions and the Book of Psalms in the Second Temple period, focusing on their use in the Gospel of Matthew. David has worked in Christian education and student ministry for 17 years and is currently an upper school teacher at The First Academy in Orlando, Florida.

Doug Hibbard — B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary
Doug Hibbard is a pastor in southeastern Arkansas. A doctoral candidate at B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary, Doug is researching Baptist Heritage as it intersects with post-Reconstruction American History. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University just after the discovery of fire and earned his Master of Divinity from B.H. Carroll. Doug has also worked in logistics management and fast food. He and his wife, Ann, have three adult children.

Emily Bianchini — Simpson University
Emily Bianchini is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies at Simpson University. Emily comes from a large Italian family based in Sacramento. She has a passion for teaching kids and teens about the Bible. When she is not writing, Emily enjoys reading books, making pasta sauce, appreciating beauty in all forms, and making things with her hands. 

Hinnan Herbert — Dallas Theological Seminary 
No bio submitted.

Jacque Jordan — A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary 
Jacque Jordan is a current student at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary receiving her Masters of Divinity. She received her B.A in Songwriting from Belmont University in 2017 with a minor in Religion and the Arts. Jacque spends her time between Nashville and Georgia. She loves her German Shepard, Jagger, and pursuing the Lord and vice versa. Her focus is on biblical worship in all its forms, using her skills and education to help the church better praise the Lord and edify the church body.

Julia Bitler — Lancaster Bible College
Julia is a recent graduate from Lancaster Bible College living in Lancaster and will soon be moving back to New Jersey. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies and Children & Family Ministry and has completed internships with churches and other Christian ministries. She is passionate about God’s Word, writing, discipleship, children, and prayer. She hopes to eventually publish her own book someday sharing what the Lord has taught her. In her free time, Julia enjoys writing, reading, swimming, snuggling puppies, and spending time with her friends and family. 

Lark Kelsey — Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary 
Lark Kelsey is a current ThM student in Practical Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. With a BS in Psychology (University of Florida) and a Masters in Theological Studies (Gordon-Conwell), her research interests lie at the intersection of these disciplines. After graduation, she intends to pursue doctoral studies to explore spiritual trauma and the related factors for those exiting their spiritual communities or faith traditions. Currently, she works as a Teaching Assistant for Greek and New Testament. She writes online as LarkTheoSis, encouraging others toward a deeper union with God.

Laura Hamilton Hui — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
After a lifetime of thinking she was called to international missions, Laura found herself in the “foreign” land of New Orleans in 2015 to pursue her MDiv. She stumbled upon Greek halfway through her degree and is now finishing her Ph.D. in New Testament from New York where she serves as Minister of Education and Administration at Brooklyn Chinese Baptist Church. Her multicultural settings have led her to study how the insights and interpretations of Christians worldwide can help the Western church understand the Bible even more clearly. She and her husband Augustine love to spend time with their church family, savor the many cuisines of New York, and watch their young daughter and son discover the world.

Lauren Mulford — Union Theological College 
Lauren Mulford lives in west Michigan with her husband and 8 children. She is currently the Postgraduate Studies Administrator at Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, UK. She is studying at Union Theological College for her Masters of Theology. She hopes to work in hospice care. She leads a weekly online Bible study and volunteers with her church.

Lisa Antonishek — B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary
Lisa Antonishek, a graduate student at B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary, is excited to begin the Doctor of Ministry program in Fall 2024. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Formation and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Lisa grew in her faith while serving others for six years as a missionary at the Evangelical Christian Academy in Spain, where she taught middle school Bible classes, provided counseling, and facilitated leadership development for upper school students. As a Program Manager for Survivor Care at the Austin Disaster Relief Network, Lisa currently equips church volunteers to walk alongside survivors of disasters from crisis to restoration. At her church, Lisa serves by leading the Upfront Prayer Team and 2 women’s discipleship groups. Passionate about shining the light of Christ, Lisa is devoted to fostering spiritual growth in others. She is blessed with four daughters, their husbands, and 10 grandchildren, all living in Austin, Texas.

Liz Daye — Dallas Theological Seminary 
Liz Daye is a writer, teacher, hospital chaplain-in-training, and caregiver. In addition to working towards her Master of Chaplaincy and Care Ministry degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, she and her husband are in the thick of raising their four school-aged children in the Atlanta suburbs. Liz has recently joined the teaching faculty of The Opened Bible Academy. On her substack (For Flourishing) she writes about the Bible and spiritual formation in the context of disability and caregiving. Currently, you can find her guest co-hosting season 7 of the Untidy Faith Podcast. Liz is passionate about relationship-based discipleship and believes it’s important to cultivate faith practices that are qualitatively welcoming, curious, and embodied. For fun, she enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with friends—and drinking way too much hot, black coffee.

Pamela Baker — Winebrenner Theological Seminary
No bio submitted.

Parker Smith — B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary
Parker is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree from B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary. Since completing his B.A. in Christian Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he has been serving on staff at First Baptist Church of Talala, Oklahoma as a pastoral intern as well as taking masters courses online. He hopes to one day pastor a church and lead people into a deeper walk with Christ.

Rachel Schuck — University of North Texas
Rachel Schuck is a PhD Candidate in ethnomusicology and a Teaching Assistant in the College of Music at the University of North Texas. She holds an MM in musicology from the University of Miami and a BM in music education and flute performance from West Chester University of PA. Her current research focuses on music pedagogy within South Asia and its diaspora and performance practices among Tamil Protestant communities. Rachel has a lifelong passion for connecting her music work with the local and global church and has served in various music ministry roles across the US and India. This summer, Rachel has just returned to the States after a year of dissertation fieldwork in South India and will enjoy burying her nose in many books, spending time with friends and family, and reveling in the good grace of God which transcends cultural boundaries and frenetic flows of life. 

Vicente Quiñones-Aponte — B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary
Vicente Quiñones-Aponte is a M.A. in Christian Ministry student at B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary. He serves as pastor at Iglesia Refugio de Amor and as instructor at Instituto de Formación Cristiana Antioquia in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Vicente is enthusiastic about research and writing on theological topics such as eschatology and ecclesiology. He likes to write both in English and Spanish. He enjoys reading and researching.