As we roll into 2026, Melissa and I have been praying for direction from the Lord. We have a lot in store for this year!

Books are powerful. We’re here to do a big thing. We’re here to change the American media, and that’s been the vision since we started this ministry in 2018.

We believe something crazy: we believe that you can impact real people with the stories that you write.

But we also believe that nobody can do it alone (and we’re not really supposed to, even if you could).

We’re not just here to satisfy a hobby interest. Our primary purpose is to equip fiction writers who are serious about reaching the lost and changing the conversation in America.

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert doesn’t matter, our mission is to help writers who want to take their work seriously, so that we can achieve big Kingdom results.

Just like you, I can get lost in the day-to-day, just trying to keep the lights on and stop the wheels from falling off. I can fixate on just doing one task at a time, and usually that’s not a bad strategy.

But I sense the Lord calling us, both us as leaders and The Company as a community of writers (that’s you!), to keep our vision up. God has big things in play. Let’s pay attention to what he’s doing.

This year we have more than ever before coming your way: classes, contests, challenges, even a conference. But we’re not doing any of it just because it’s the next thing. Every piece is part of the greater mission that God has given us. And it’s a mission that you’re a part of.

Bigger Vision

The foundation of everything that we do is prayer. From the way we lead our apprentices, to the newsletters we send out each week, to the fun contests and challenges that we run—prayer permeates everything that we do.

This year we’ll be calling the community of writers to prayer. The Bible says that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) The Company now has over 1,600 registered online members, how much more powerful and effective is a community of believers unified in prayer?

30 days of prayer

It’s time for the American media to change. That begins with the writers. We are the bedrock of all media—books, television, even advertisements.

If you change the writers, you change the world.

We’ll finalize the date soon, but we’ll be leading a 30-day prayer challenge to change the American media. Stay tuned to join us.

The Pearl

While our primary emphasis as a ministry is on training, The Pearl is the point of the spear.

It’s been so cool to see the mission and quality of The Pearl’s regular content come together under Lucy Grecu’s leadership this year.

The Pearl released five new full-length titles last year, beginning with Outlaw Blood by Noah J. Matthews, and wrapping up the year with Snowboard Girl by Olympic medalist Shannon Downing.

These books are moving forward in the marketplace, sharing the Gospel with the world in covert ways.

In the coming year, we’ll continue to release regular content to the website for free, and we have more great books slated for release. Call It Consequences by Alli Prince will kick off this year’s catalog on January 21. And we’re so excited to see The Abalone come together!

New Apprentices – Applications Open Now

Our biggest emphasis at The Company is (and always will be) our full-time writing apprenticeship. We’ll welcome a new class of apprentices to our schoolhouse in Cambridge, Ohio in September.

If you love Jesus and you’re serious about becoming a professional writer, there’s no better place in the world to be. Applications are now open.

The best way to get to know us and check out what we do at The Company is by attending our Spring Writing Retreat, which will be held April 24-25 this year.

If you’re feeling like you might be ready to take a big leap of faith with your writing, apply to the apprenticeship. There’s no cost to apply and no risk. When you apply, then we can pray together. We share the same goal: to see you wherever will be most helpful for the mission God has for you.

Expanded Team

We’ve always committed ourselves to only platforming proven industry professionals. Too many writers groups offer teaching from people who haven’t accomplished anything noteworthy.

We also do things differently. This isn’t the same teaching that you’re going to get at a university MFA program (not even close).

This means that what we do here has often been the Brad Pauquette show. The teaching that we provide is based on my real decade+ of experience in the secular publishing industry.

However, as our list of graduated apprentices grows, and those graduates publish amazing books and reach higher heights, our team is growing too! Look for more new faces behind the microphone this year—more diverse perspectives, greater course offerings.

Our commitment remains the same: you’ll only ever hear from people who have proven that they know what they’re talking about in the publishing marketplace.

More community

Our priority is always our apprentices, but we also love how we can serve the greater community of Christian writers. You are welcome here.

In the coming year, we’ll continue to offer writing contests and challenges throughout the year. We all had so much fun with the Spring and Winter Writing Challenges this year. Stay in the loop, because there’ll be more coming!

Christian Writer Con

May 8 and 9 we’ll be hosting an online conference, the first ever of its kind. We’re planning nine sessions of fire content that will change your writing game. The details are finalizing now, so stay tuned!

New merch every month

In the coming year, we’ll be launching a new merch product in The Company Store every month. From fashionable to functional, keep your eye out for new stuff to brighten your wardrobe and your desk. (Members of The Company save 10%.)

We want to see you inspired on your journey, and representing The Company wherever you go!

More Member Perks

Much of what we do is free for everyone. Our goal is just to put good stuff into your hands.

However, we also offer some perks exclusively for paid members of The Company. This is seriously helpful stuff.

Live Coaching Groups

Our live coaching groups, which we started this fall, have already proven themselves to be an excellent resource. We’re excited to see how these groups continue to develop. You really can’t get this level of support on a regular basis anywhere else.

These groups are open to everyone. You’re invited.

We’re still getting them dialed in, and there may still be some adjustments to the schedule and the offerings. Take advantage of these groups today.

New Classes every month

In 2026, we’ll be adding a new class to the website every single month! Most of these classes will only be available to paid members of The Company.

What if you could improve one area of your writing every single month? Think of where you’ll be a year from now!

You can become a member at any time here. The amount of content and resources available to members has ballooned over the past two years. We’ll soon be re-organizing the Member Dashboard so that it’s easier to find and access all of the good stuff that’s available to you.

More teaching

As I pray into the coming year, I sense that the Lord wants to teach us about humility.

Not necessarily in a “The Lord is going to humble you” kind of way. But what does it mean to be humble? How do we do it?

If Moses could write of himself, “Now the man Moses was very meek [humble], more than all people who were on the face of the earth,” (Numbers 12:3) then perhaps “humility” is something that we don’t totally understand.

As writers, we have to tell other people about our work. How do we do that with humility? What does that mean?

We’ll be exploring this together in the weekly newsletters over the coming months. Keep your eye on your inbox. (Need to signup for the newsletter? Do it here.)

We’re excited to enter into this new year with Bigger Vision. More books, more community, more membership perks, more teaching…all for big Kingdom impact in the American media.

Of course this stuff is only helpful if you use it. We can’t change the American media without you!

You are invited. For all of this.

If you’d like to become more involved in the coming year, please consider becoming a member, joining Arche Year, or applying to the full-time writing apprenticeship. We’d love to get to know you and see you make big progress towards your writing goals.

And of course there’s so much more going on than what we’ve listed here. Make sure you’re connected so that you don’t miss anything (sign up for the newsletter below).

I hope to see you around. In our contests, in our coaching meetings, at our apprenticeship. It’s going to be a great year together!

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