Pray.com, a leading app for faith and prayer, has signed on to be the corporate sponsor of EPA’s 2025 Cause of the Year: Faith & Technology. To encourage publications to tackle certain important subjects, EPA’s annual contest features an annual Cause of the Year. The Board of Directors chooses a specific topic and presents awards for the best material published on that subject during that year. During 2025, publications are asked to address the subject of how technology can be used to advance the gospel. The parameters are purposefully very broad and any article that touches on the subject ..read more

By Sherri Langton Take a minute and think about a negative experience — your personal 9/11 when your world exploded and imploded. Maybe it was a cancer diagnosis. The death of someone close. Abuse. Dementia. If you’ve logged many miles on life’s odometer, several catastrophes might come to mind.  Do those events just make for bad memories, or can they be used? If you have the typical writer’s brain that scans every situation for possible material, you know the answer to that question. At my first Christian writers conference, author Ruth Vaughn said it well: “God can make creative use out ..read more

The world of publishing has changed significantly from once-upon-a-time days until now. And yet, in some ways, it has remained exactly the same. To exist, periodicals, online and in print, need writing. It’s a need that will never fade. The challenge is finding the right writer at the right time to produce the right content, which is both high quality and within budget. Thank God that he created freelancers to fill this vital need! Just take a look in the Associate Members’ section of your EPA directory and you’ll find a bunch of good ones listed. With the input of several of them, we’ve assem ..read more

By Lori Arnold From seed to fruit to tree, the creative process can be marked with discouragement, distractions and despair, but believers can rest assured that God uses our experiences to help us in our craft. That was the message from singer-songwriter Nicole C. Mullen, who opened the 2024 Evangelical Press Association convention with a worship set that featured an inspiring rendition of her Dove Award-winning song “Redeemer.” That theme of craft—from experiences and practical tips to emerging technology—was a common cord, during the 76th EPA convention. Mullen set the tone for the evening a ..read more

Branson, Missouri, known as the “Entertainment Mecca of the Mid-South,” has been announced as the next destination for the EPA convention. Scheduled for May 4 to 6, 2025, this is the first time for Branson to host the annual meeting in EPA’s 76-year history. The Branson Hilton will be the convention hotel with meetings held in the adjacent, but connected, Branson Convention Center. The popular shopping and dining district, Branson Landing, is just a few steps away. Turning Point with David Jeremiah will return as our Title Sponsor, and Sight & Sound Theatre is once again offering complimen ..read more

The Terry White Lifetime Achievement Award, first established a year ago to honor the one often referred to as Mr. EPA for his half century of EPA involvement, was presented to three former editors at the recent Lexington convention. The award recognizes those who, during their lifetimes, have made exceptional contributions to the field of Christian journalism and to EPA. Dean Merrill has had a remarkable writing career. He has served EPA publications such as Christian Herald, Campus Life and Leadership Journal for Christianity Today International, and he led the Focus on the Family magazine g ..read more

Four young journalists were recognized for their exceptional accomplishments and burgeoning potential at the recent EPA convention in Lexington, KY. Nominated by their editors, these under-35 individuals were identified as already excelling in the field of journalism. Each received an engraved Emerging Journalist award from EPA President Sandra Glahn. The recipients were: Rachel Larsen, nominated by Chosen People Ministries Timothy Cockes, nominated by Baptist Press Jillian Ward, nominated by The Lion Kaylena Radcliff, nominated by Christian History The Emerging Journalist Award is a new ini ..read more

The Board of Trustees for EPA has undergone a few changes. At the recent annual members’ meeting on April 23, 2025, Mark Dreistadt was elected as an advisor for a three-year term, replacing Warren L. Maye. Maye, however, will remain on the board as the new treasurer, elected to fill the seat held by Danny Conn who completed his term. Dreistadt is the president and CEO of Infinity Concepts, and Maye is the editor-in-chief of SAconnects for The Salvation Army Eastern Territory. Kristy Glaspie was announced as the new secretary, appointed to fill the vacancy created by a resignation earlier this ..read more

EPA has awarded scholarships to two students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The announcement was made at the annual meeting for members at the Lexington convention in April. The $2,000 Jerry Jenkins Scholarship has been awarded to Sydney Brammer from Visalia, CA. Brammer will be a junior at Point Loma Nazarene University where she is seeking a degree in multimedia journalism with a career desire to “pursue investigative and human interest journalism.” “Sydney is EXACTLY the kind of Christian journalist the EPA will want to support,” said PLNU journalism professor Dean Nelson, himself a forme ..read more

The 2024 Higher Goals awards were presented at the annual convention in Lexington, KY, on April 22 and 23, 2024. Click here to download a PDF of all the winners. Click here to view the Awards of Excellence. All award certificates and judging score/comment sheets are being emailed to the email address of the person who submitted the entries. If you do not receive your certificates or judge sheets by April 25, please email the executive director. Please allow 24 to 48 hours for a response. Article Series  First Place: The Baptist Paper, Endangered Youth — Denise George. Secon ..read more