by Katy Kauffman, @KatyKauffman28

Light traveled from all over the world to settle on Black Mountain, North Carolina. Hundreds of light bearers—Christian writers—gathered at Ridgecrest to learn about the craft of writing, pitch projects, and share ideas and fellowship. The intensity of the light glowed like the sun during the praise and worship times. I’ve been in few places on earth that have felt as bright.

After I met with some of those light bearers in private appointments, emissions of light were sent to me via e-mail. Many of those articles found their home in Refresh Bible Study Magazine, my family’s online, bimonthly publication. The topic that summer? Spiritual warfare. The brilliant, darkness-shattering light of those articles etched messages of hope, strength, and victory onto my heart, as well as the hearts of our readers.

 Share Your Personality and Style

The light bearers that I have met through Blue Ridge and other conferences have added their own unique personalities and styles to the magazine. Heartwarming, funny, and enlightening—these writers have shared personal stories, meaningful principles, and Scripture verses that refresh the heart. The topics they have written about are directly tied to daily life—the love of God, the fruit of the Spirit, the “one another” verses of the Bible, what it means to walk “in Christ,” the promises of God, evangelism, and raising our kids to know and love God. Sound like something you’d want to be a part of 

Join Forces to Shine

Join forces with our other light bearers. Contribute your own light—articles, devotions, poetry, or short stories—and invest in a voice for God in the world. At Lighthouse Bible Studies, we love connecting with writers who shine a light on who God is, how to know and love Him more, and how to live for Him.

Share the Light

The slogan of Refresh is “Connecting God’s Word to Life Today,” and that’s what our articles deliver. “How Do You Find Peace?” in our fruit of the Spirit issue shifts our focus from seeking peace by trying to do everything right, to centering our minds on the faithfulness of God and depending on Him to build peace within us. Humorous articles, like “A Zombie Nod to Halloween,” capture our readers’ attention by using everyday or unusual occurrences to illustrate spiritual insights. “Built on the Rock” showcases a modern illustration of a timeless principle—when we build our lives on the Rock, we are anchored to Someone who is unshakable in the storms of life. And “Three Ways to Prepare to Share Christ” uses the heartwarming story of a wedding as a lead-in to three actions we can take in witnessing.

The Benefits of Writing for Us

Writing for Refresh not only serves as a way to reach an audience regularly, but it also builds your writing credentials. It also may lead to being a guest writer for my blog or submitting to Lighthouse Bible Studies’ compilation books, such as Breaking the Chains (2017) and Heart Renovation (June 2018). Some of our magazine issues and blog series serve as the basis of future compilations.

Get In Touch

If you’re headed to the conference in May and interested in learning more about Refresh or pitching an article, I’ll be taking private appointments to talk about the magazine. If you can’t go to the conference or would like more information now, e-mail me at lighthousebiblestudies@hotmail.com. Click the following link to view past issues and review our statement of faith: Refresh.

Below is a list of the magazine’s topics for 2018. We are giving Blue Ridge conferees a longer time to submit to the June issue—the deadline is June 2.

• June 15 – Prayer
• August 15 – James: Practical Tips on Troubleshooting the Daily Christian Life

(Pick any of the topics in the book of James for your devotion or article.)

• October 15 – Contributor’s Choice
• December 3 (or later that week) – Christmas

So how about joining forces to shine God’s light in a dark world? Join us and be a part of a “family” and a team of writers who love God and Scripture. Consider submitting to Refresh.

In the comments below, tell me what messages about God and life with Him you like to share with others. I’d love to hear, and fellow light bearer, keep shining!

Winner of the 2016 Selah award for Bible studies, Katy Kauffman is an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. Her next compilation—a Bible study on godly character—releases in the spring of 2018. Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, PursueMagazine.net, two blogs on writing, and in online magazines. She loves spending time with family and friends, making jewelry, and hunting for the best decaf coffee. Connect with her at her blog and on Facebook and Twitter.