Talk about a whirlwind! It’s so amazing when we can come together and God moves.

This past weekend, Christian writers from all over the world joined us for Christian Writer Con! We had ten sessions of fire content, author Q&As, breakout rooms, and so much more. Aside from a few minor tech glitches (to be expected), everything went swimmingly.

We had such a good time hosting, and we’re honored that so many came. It wouldn’t have been the same with each one of you!

Online writers’ conferences aren’t super conducive to photos, but we’ll share a few with here nonetheless.

As I reflect on this past weekend, there are three things that I really appreciated:

1. The values overlap.

It was amazing to see how the content of each session overlapped with the other sessions.

We didn’t have a big planning session with the presenters ahead of time where we all talked about ideas. Each presenter pitched their own ideas. But nonetheless, it was like someone designed everything to work together (almost like there’s an invisible benevolent force guiding us…hmmm).

So many of the presentations touched on giving God our whole “Yes!” and making Him the center of our writing.

Many of the attendees left saying things like:

“When you’re feeling empty you need to refill your well. My well is overflowing from this conference.”

“[My biggest takeaway is to] write from the overflow of feeding your heart and mind the word of God.”

It was amazing to see the sessions build on one another, and to hear attendees share how they were truly changed by what they experienced.

A huge thanks goes out to all of our presenters for following the leading of the Holy Spirit and contributing to this event: Alli Prince, Noah J. Matthews, Michelle Nezat, Thirzah, Kyle Peters, Vella Karman, Richard Scott Morehead, and Shannon Dunn-Downing.

2. The apprentices ran the show.

We’re in the business of creating growth opportunities for our apprentices. Sometimes writers can be a little introverted…but not this weekend.

Lucy Grecu, Sarah Elizabeth Sax, Emily Gwaltney, and J. Hulse White (Jenna) stepped up and took care of business. From hosting the sessions and breakout rooms, to actually running the tech, these guys did the whole job.

In fairness, I don’t think it’s something they all love, but it’s something that will be a huge asset to them to be able to do when needed. I was so proud of the way they stepped up. And it changed the feeling of the conference in all the right ways.

Here’s what some of the attendees had to say about it:

“The conference had a more laid-back feeling than other ones I have attended. This felt more engaging and genuine than others I have attended.”

“The interactions in Q&A and meeting and doing exercises face to face with other participants was really fun.”

“I loved the anatomy of story session and the live brainstorm.”

This feeling of the event and these opportunities were only possible due to the hard work and courage of our apprentices. Well done, apprentices!

3. Truly Christ-exalting

As Melissa and I reflected on the conference Saturday night, it occurred to me:

This wasn’t a writers’ conference for Christians.

This was a Christian conference for writers.

As the sessions came together, it was about so much more than just how to write deeper characters, engaging themes, or better dialogue. This was a conference about how to be a Christian with a calling to write.

Here’s what some of the attendees said their biggest takeaways were:

“Write from a relationship with Jesus, say ‘Yes’ to the things He’s called you into.”

“Writing is hard work. Grounding in Jesus is key.”

“Really appreciated the unapologetically Christ-centered focus through all of this. The prayer. The cohesive message was a confirmation that this was put in place by God.”

There are so many great resources out there in the world for improving your writing. Where we really need one another in real-time is to help us keep our eyes focused on Jesus. I’m happy that we could do that this weekend.

My Takeaway

I felt the Lord start speaking to me about this event last winter.

This isn’t the kind of thing we’d typically pick for ourselves to do. In my humble opinion, many conferences are fun but provide little real value to the attendees. I don’t want to contribute to that culture that capitalizes on writers as consumers. We want to provide real value and help writers reach consumers.

But this was an idea I couldn’t shake, and it seemed to come from the Lord. It was amazing to watch doors open and the path clear for us as we took one step of obedience at a time.

It’s incredible to me that we had ten amazing sessions just within our community of graduates and published authors. Everyone who spoke was raised up within The Company with the same values to put Jesus first. All of the pieces fit together.

I think it’s awesome that we’ve received so much positive feedback on the event. But the real test isn’t “did people have a good time?”

The real test is “Are real people better equipped to serve the Lord in their craft and calling?

And those are seeds that may take years or decades to grow and bloom.

But I know that we did our best to follow the Lord’s leading. And I’m so grateful for all of the speakers, helpers, and apprentices who said “yes” to play their part.

Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to be useful in this way!

The question I keep hearing is, “Will there be a Christian Writer Con ’27?” Based on everything we saw last weekend, it’s so tempting to say “yes” and start planning! But we’re going to keep following the leading of the Holy Spirit, listening for His voice, and taking one step at a time.

If that’s what He has in store, we’d love to see you there.

And if not, rest assured, we’ll continue to do our best to provide education and encouragement every day of the week in everything we do. Whether it’s through a conference, online classes, or our apprenticeship, we’re serious about helping Christian writers live, write, and publish their best stories.

Thank you to everyone who plays a part in this mission—as a teacher, as a conference attendee, as a member of the website. It wouldn’t be the same without you.

Did you attend Christian Writer Con ’26?

Share some of your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!

P.S. It never stops! Join us for The Company’s Novel Challenge beginning May 25. Learn more and signup here.