2025 EPA Convention Encourages and Equips Members in Their Calling
By Joyce K. Ellis
From beginning to end, the 2025 Evangelical Press Association’s Christian Media Convention exalted Scripture and affirmed the members’ unique calling to reach today’s culture with the beauty of the gospel. The 160 attendees from the U.S., Canada and Sri Lanka gathered in Branson, Missouri, May 4–6 with an optional day of extra activities.
The convention was marked by five powerful plenary messages that culminated with a standing ovation for Nicole Martin when she closed out the event on the final evening.
Exalting Scripture
In her keynote, author Mary DeMuth debunked the American myth that if God is in an idea, it will prosper. She emphasized listening for God’s voice and “staying the course” in discouraging times.
Dr. John Plake, editor-in-chief of American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible Report,” gave hopeful news. He cited 2024–2025 stats of Bible usage up 30% among Millennials, 14% among GenX and 21% among men in general.
Plake noted a gap between the Bible disengaged and the Bible engaged. From 2019–2025, that gap, the “movable middle,” grew significantly. Numbering more than 71 million, these curious adults want help understanding Scripture. Plake challenged Christian media to equip Bible-engaged Americans to meet this hunger.
Researcher Sam George addressed the changing evangelical landscape. Of Asian Indian origin, George, who directs the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College, challenged EPA members to think more globally, to collaborate with publishers in the “global south” who know how to reach people for Christ with fewer resources. He urged producing material that can be translated into Mandarin, Swahili and other languages, noting that Spanish is now the most-spoken language in the world.
Continuing the theme of exalting Scripture, Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) President Dr. Mark Yarbrough presented a succinct overview of the “Story of Scripture,” our story, he emphasized. To reach the “movable middle” we need a sharable understanding of the redemptive threads woven throughout Scripture, he said. Too many people have only collected miscellaneous puzzle pieces they have heard. Yarbrough, a DTS Bible exposition professor, pleaded for Christian media to create resources that make sense of God’s big picture.
At the closing banquet, Christianity Today COO Dr. Nicole Massie Martin talked about Christian communicators’ common lament: “Lord, if I had known then what I know now, I may not have said yes to you.” Even the prophet Jeremiah felt deceived because his obedience brought constant assaults. Martin called that shortsightedness. “Sometimes God allows our shortsightedness,” she said, “to lead us into the places where he wants us,” places of dependence on him.
Jeremiah’s calling won out: “If I say, I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name, his word is in my heart like a fire…I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot” (Jer. 20:9 NIV). Massie urged EPA members to remember that the power of the resurrection lives in them, helping them fulfill their calling.
Equipping ‘the called’
Workshops, spanning digital and print media, provided growth opportunities in faith and craft. Besides perennial topics—writing, editing, design, management and more—2025’s lineup included such topics as social-media content distribution, ethnic-diversity considerations, creative collaboration and AI.
Kennedy Unthank with Plugged In said they do a lot with “tech,” so he appreciated practical AI tips and was eager to share with his team.
“Two sessions dealt with how to use better prompts with AI, something I’ve always wanted to get better at,” Unthank said, adding that he was surprised at how simple it was.
Many attendees lauded the workshop on AI prompts led by Dustin Stout, founder of the AI platform Magai. To receive better responses, Stout said, give commands as prompts. Don’t ask questions as Google trained users to do. Commands, he said, should be specific and provide context. Approach AI as a conversation, clarifying as you go.
“The cost of poor prompting ends up in wasted time, wasted energy, generic results and missed opportunities,” Stout said.
Outreach magazine editor Jonathan Sprowl said several AI presenters described AI as a mirror that will reflect your character. Though it can be used for nefarious reasons, “if you have integrity and character and are trying to use it for good,” Sprowl summarized, “it can also be used for that.” Admitting he previously had been against AI, even lamenting its existence, Sprowl said, “I feel I have a more balanced perspective now.”
Other workshops covered day-to-day publication operations. Holly Johnson, managing editor for Instigate magazine, called the information on content strategy and project management “fantastic,” especially helpful since she’s only been managing editor about a year.
Jason Campbell is a writer, broadcaster and video editor with One Mission Kids, and his wife, Lora, is a graphic designer there. She taught a Canva workshop, including template generation, color psychology and posting to social media. Jason attended the design for non-designers workshop, which gave him new perspectives—beyond “things my wife’s been telling me all these years,” he quipped.
Joyce Dinkins’s workshop, with her son David, advocated diversity in Christian content, emphasizing that one in three American evangelicals is a person of color. Dinkins, developer of Our Daily Bread’s Voices imprint, urged a fresh vision of all ethnicities’ dignity. It’s not just about skin tone, she clarified, but cultural experiences, relationships, Scripture knowledge and a heart for Christ—listening to Him. We need open eyes to see people as individuals, she said, asking, “Does our material include or exclude?”
An advanced interviewing workshop, led by Erin Hayes, retired national correspondent for ABC National News and current journalism professor at College of the Ozarks near Branson, offered advice for getting people to talk—especially in crisis situations. She suggested using questions like, “Can you help me understand…?” She also emphasized building trust relationships with interviewees and learning to wait for answers, allowing people time to fill in what you need.
Christina Quick with Influence magazine found the storytelling strategies workshop especially helpful to her because it’s basic to everything journalists do. “I received insight, however small, in every activity,” she said, noting she could put all those things to use in some way when she returned.
Networking benefits
Networking remains a top reason people keep coming back to the EPA convention. Walking around the Branson Convention Center, one could hear attendees asking, “How do you handle (fill in the blank)?” The blanks varied among editors, marketing directors, photographers, circulation managers, designers, writers and more—both staff and freelance.
Monday evening’s open slot encouraged networking through enjoyment of Branson eateries and entertainment (comp tickets to select shows included). One option featured the three-generation musical family, the Duttons—singing, dancing and playing dozens of instruments, sometimes even “blindly” behind their backs. In another option, The Six Show (six brothers) featured a wide range of hits, using only voices to add instrumental and percussion sounds.
Throughout the convention, networking also helped editors and freelancers connect for future projects. In addition to connections, freelance writer-designer Marianne Stewart said she keeps coming back because conventions help her “step outside my daily routine, sharpen my skills, explore new topics, and think in fresh ways.” She also said hearing stories of how God is moving through others’ lives refreshes her soul.
Enjoying post-convention extras
Two free, optional post-convention activities capped off the convention on May 7. Dr. Yarbrough’s four-hour morning intensive encouraged group discussion and application of his “Story of Scripture” address. He helped attendees strategize ways to communicate “our whole, grand story of the good news we believe” to new, open, curious generations. Yarbrough also gave resource examples.
In the afternoon, 90 EPA members went to Branson’s Sight & Sound Theatre for a live production of DAVID on the stunning, ten-story-high, 300-foot panoramic stage, complete with actors and live animals entering and exiting via auditorium aisles.
Beforehand, they received an exclusive backstage tour, including Q&A with staff and with one of the actors playing David. Attendees also got an up-close encounter with the 14-foot, 800-pound Goliath programmed to kick, jump and thrust his spear. Talented actors and soul-touching music encapsulated the highs and lows of King David’s life and offered new insights into David’s moniker, “a man after God’s own heart.”
Illustrating what it’s all about
For freelance writer and editor Carla Foote, a morning-walk observation inspired a convention analogy. As a gardener, she admired a riverside grouping of flowers. Closer, she noticed they were individual pots of flowers awaiting planting all over downtown. “Gathering here at EPA,” Foote said, “we have…beauty and joy and encouragement and hope together. Then we go back to our workplaces and homes—with our home offices and Zooms—and we are little spots of hope and light and joy and beauty all over the country, the world. It’s a picture to me of the value of EPA.”
Joyce K. Ellis, an award-winning freelance writer and author, has served in the publishing industry as a magazine editor, book editor and writer for more than fifty years, in addition to public speaking and teaching at writing conferences. She has published hundreds of articles in EPA publications and numerous books for children and adults, including an interactive devotional book, Our Heart Psalms, and a humorous grammar book, Write with Excellence 201. In 2023 she received EPA’s Terry White Lifetime Achievement Award. Learn more at joycekellis.com.
Posted May 30, 2025
