2018 Higher Goals Awards

Article Series

First Place: In Touch Magazine, “Biblical Literacy Series” — Brad Fruhauff, Michelle van Loon. Second Place: Christianity Today Online, “#AmplifyWomen” — Sharon Hodde Miller, Tish Harrison Warren. Third Place: In Touch Magazine Online, “By Rote” — Tania Runyan, Jeff Gregory. Fourth Place: PE News, “Reaching Young Adults” — John Kennedy. Fifth Place: Concordia Seminary Magazine, “500: The Impact of the Reformation Today” — Erik Herrmann, Paul Robinson, Charles Arand.

Biblical Exposition

First Place: EFCA Now, “When Healing Doesn’t Come” — Rick Langer. Second Place: Sojourners, “The Return of the King” — Robert R. Beck. Third Place: The Covenant Companion, “The Word Without Words” — Danielle Ng. Fourth Place: The Banner, “The Disabled Savior” — Shiao Chong. Fifth Place: Christianity Today Online, “The ‘Feminine’ Trait Every Christian Needs to Learn” — Lynn H. Cohick.

Blog: Single Post

First Place: EFCA Now, “Are You Annoyed by Singing the Same Chorus Over and Over?” — Craig Petinak. Second Place: ERLC.com, “Called to Childlessness: The Surprising Ways of God” — Karen Swallow Prior. Third Place: Boundless, “I Phub, You Phub, We All Phub” — Lindsay Blackburn. Fourth Place: ManagingYourChurch.com, “Q&A: What Churches Should Know About Immigration Law” — Emily Lund. Fifth Place: Mutuality Online, “The Crushing Burden Of Bearing Authority Alone” — Amanda Fowler.

Blog: Website

First Place: EFCA Now — Diane McDougall, Abby Farson Pratt, Josh Bryant, Jeremy Cherry, Zack Bryant, Rae Phillips. Second Place: Christianity Today Online, “Pivot” — Karl Vaters. Third Place: Boundless — Lisa Anderson, Abby DeBenedittis. Fourth Place: ManagingYourChurch.com — Samuel Ogles, Emily Lund, Matthew Branaugh, Michelle Dowell. Fifth Place: The Banner, “As I Was Saying” — Shiao Chong, Judith Claire Hardy, Alissa Vernon, Gayla R. Postma, Kristy Quist.

Cartoon

First Place: In Touch Magazine, “To Be Born Again” — Jeff Gregory. Second Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr., “Friends Out Back” — Crystal Bowman, Kevin Zimmer. Third Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse, “Degrees of Kelvin” — Jeff Gerke, Dennis Edwards. Fourth Place: Christianity Today, “Gene Luen Yang Means a Lot to Me” — Seth Hahne. Fifth Place: The Pathway, “Moses” — Dennis Fletcher.

Cause of the Year Article: The Reformation

First Place: Christian History, “Helping Souls” — Katie Benjamin. Second Place: Holiness Today, “Catholics and the Protestant Reformation” — Paul Turner. Third Place: DTS Magazine, “Redeeming Myths of the Reformation” — Michael Svigel. Fourth Place: Christianity Today, “Justify Yourself” — David Zahl. Fifth Place: The Chimes, “Remember 500” — Andrew Morgan.

Cause of the Year Illustration/Photo: The Reformation

First Place: Christianity Today, “Christianity Today” — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon, Taylor Castle. Second Place: The Banner, “The Reformation: What Did We Gain? What Did We Lose?” — Frank Gutbrod, Dean Heetderks. Third Place: DTS Magazine, “Six Lessons from the Legacy of Martin Luther” — John Dyer. Fourth Place: Concordia Seminary Magazine, “Luther Watercolor” — Erik Herrmann, Jayna Rollings.

Cover

First Place: Christianity Today — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon, Taylor Castle. Second Place: World Vision Magazine — Kristy O’Hara, Heather Klinger, Jon Warren, Ashley Walton. Third Place: In Touch Magazine — Gemma O’Brien. Fourth Place: Light Magazine — Jacob Blaze, Lindsay Nicolet, Jason Thacker. Fifth Place: Compassion Explorer Magazine — Leanna Summers, Willow Welter, Ben Lew.

Critical Review

First Place: The Pathway, “Movie Review Silence Shows Brutal Reality of Persecution” — Brian Koonce. Second Place: Christianity Today Online, “‘The Big Sick’ Is a Rom-Com About a Broader Kind of Love” — D.L. Mayfield. Third Place: Sojourners, “Picked Clean to the Bone” — Danny Duncan Collum. Fourth Place: Sojourners Online, “Hidden Racism” — Da’Shawn Mosley. Fifth Place: The Chimes, “Kendricks Excommunication” — Austin Bland.

Department

First Place: Answers Magazine, “Creation on Display” — Tom Hennigan, Jeanette Littleton, John UpChurch, Gordon Wilson, Melissa Webb, Doug Rumminger. Second Place: The Banner, “Just for Kids” — Sandy Swartzentruber, Rachel Lancashire. Third Place: Christianity Today, “Testimony” — Wesley So, Costi Hinn. Fourth Place: Sojourners, “CultureWatch” — Julie Polter. Fifth Place: One Magazine, “One to One” — Keith Burden, Eric K. Thomsen, Andrea Young, Sondra Blackburn.

Devotional

First Place: Christian Leader, “Creation is a Living Hymn” — David Vogel. Second Place: In Touch Magazine Online, “Flowers Blossoming in Fire” — Amy Hayes. Third Place: Brio Magazine, “What Filters Are You Using?” — Josh McDowell. Fourth Place: Boundless, “What Submission Means for Singles” — Bekah Mason. Fifth Place: In Touch Magazine, “Prepare Him Room” — Winn Collier, Christie Purifoy.

Editorial

First Place: Illinois Baptist, “What Would Jesus Do about Harassment?” — Eric Reed. Second Place: The Banner, “Stand Together” — Shiao Chong. Third Place: Mutuality Online, “Wonder Woman in the Pulpit” — Rachel Asproth. Fourth Place: Christianity Today Online, “The Biggest Loser in the Alabama Election” — Mark Galli. Fifth Place: One Magazine, “One to One – “The Gift That Keeps on Giving”“ — Keith Burden.

Evangelism Article

First Place: Church of God Evangel, “Witnessing For Christ In Public Schools: What Can Teachers and Students Say and Do?” — Nathan Street. Second Place: In Touch Magazine, “In the World, For the World” — Scott Sauls. Third Place: Christianity Today Online, “Six Ways to Inspire Confident, Contagious Faith in Your Kids” — Melissa Cain Travis. Fourth Place: Alliance Life, “Everyday Evangelism” — Martha Renaud. Fifth Place: Boundless, “How to Defend Your Faith Without Being a Jerk” — Drew Dyck.

Feature Article

First Place: Facts & Trends, “Catching Some Z’s: What the Church Can Do to Reach Generation Z, the Most Connected—and Distracted—Generation in History” — Mark Moring, Katie Shull. Second Place: Focus on the Family, “Raising Flexible Thinkers” — Todd Cartmell, Cary Bates, Vance Fry. Third Place: Answers Magazine, “Is Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat?” — Andrew A. Snelling, Dan Stelzer, Chris Neville. Fourth Place: World Vision Magazine Online, “Seven Families, Seven Journeys: A Story of Urban Life in India” — Elizabeth Hendley, Eugene Lee, Zack Bryant. Fifth Place: One Magazine, “He Has a Gun!” — Eric K. Thomsen, Andrea Young, Sondra Blackburn.

Fiction

First Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse, “Sticking to the Truth” — Nancy Rue. Second Place: Boundless, “Bullets and Black Eyes at the Manger” — George Halitzka. Third Place: Explorer’s Guide, “First Impressions” — Derek Lewis. Fourth Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr., “Pockets of Joy” — Laura Smetak.

First-Person Article

First Place: In Touch Magazine Online, “From Grandfather to Classmate” — Tim Rhodes. Second Place: Christianity Today, “I Never Became Straight” — Rachel Gilson. Third Place: The Covenant Companion, “Fleeing to Bethlehem” — Helen Lee. Fourth Place: The Chimes, “Mexican American Identity” — Hailey Zendejas. Fifth Place: Samaritan Ministries’ Christian Health Care Newsletter, “Hospital Billed Us $90,000” — Toby Meisenheimer.

Freelance Article

First Place: Joyce Ellis, “Concentrated Prayer for Wandering Minds.” Second Place: Jamie Aten, “A Walking Disaster.”. Third Place: Claudean Boatman, “Faith at the Crossroads.” Fourth Place: Ann-Margret Hovsepian, “With All Your Mind.” Fifth Place: Michael Foust, “Is The Shack a Harmless Story or Utter Heresy?”

General Article: Short

First Place: Christian News Journal, “Dad, I Dreamed about My Birth Mother” — Michael Foust. Second Place: Sojourners, “White ‘Heritage’ vs. the Gospel” — Jim Wallis. Third Place: Facts & Trends, “Raising Lowercase Z’s: What Parents of Younger Kids are Asking the Church” — Aaron Wilson. Fourth Place: Focus on the Family, “Lessons From Lucy” — Diane Stark. Fifth Place: In Touch Magazine Online, “Into the Fullness” — Sandy Feit.

General Article: Medium

First Place: Christianity Today, “In the Image of Our Choosing” — Nathan Barczi. Second Place: Answers Magazine, “What a Tale a Tail Can Tell” — Brooke Nelson. Third Place: Christian History, “Paradoxes of Prison” — Dan Graves. Fourth Place: The Voice of the Martyrs, “Outcasts for Christ” — Kevin Selders. Fifth Place: The Brink, “Says Who?” — Christopher Talbot.

General Article: Long

First Place: The Voice of the Martyrs, “The Dangerous Act of Baptism” — Kevin Selders. Second Place: Christian History, “A War Story: There is No Pit So Deep God’s Love is Not Deeper Still” — Kaylena Radcliff. Third Place: Outreach Magazine, “The Unformation Age – Why Our MIssion Calls Us to Be Mystics” — Paul J. Pastor. Fourth Place: In Touch Magazine, “Wonderstruck” — Matt Woodley. Fifth Place: Focus on the Family, “Adoption in the Empty-Nest Years” — Matt Kaufman.

Humorous

First Place: The Covenant Companion, “There’s No Crying in VBS” — Dana Bowman. Second Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse, “Pilgrim’s Program” — Bob Smiley. Third Place: Leading Hearts, “Choppers and Peanut Butter” — Rhonda Rhea. Fourth Place: In Touch Magazine, “To Be Born Again” — Chad Thomas Johnston, Jeff Gregory. Fifth Place: Teachers of Vision, “Little Eyes” — Dave Meurer.

Interview Article

First Place: The Living Church, “Sustainable Housing for the Rest of Us” — Jordan Hylden. Second Place: Light Magazine, “Protestants and Catholics in the Public Square: An Interview with Princeton’s Robert P. George” — Andrew T. Walker. Third Place: The Covenant Companion, “Breaking the Silence” — Edward Gilbreath. Fourth Place: Christianity Today, “When Dad Ends His Life” — Morgan Lee. Fifth Place: PE News, “Return on Investment” — John Kennedy.

Original Art: Digital/Mixed Media

First Place: Sojourners, “Church Planting and Gentrification” — David Hollenbach. Second Place: Answers Magazine, “Noah’s Ark on Ararat” — Chris Neville. Third Place: Christianity Today, “Matt Chandler: Multiplied + Divided” — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon, Justin Clemmons. Fourth Place: In Touch Magazine, “So That I Might See.” Fifth Place: Inheritance, “In Search of Stronger Spells” — James Cheong.

Original Art: Traditional

First Place: Focus on the Family, “Big Scary News” — Pawel Jonca. Second Place: Christianity Today, “The Benedict Option” — Dante Terzigni. Third Place: Answers Magazine, “What a Fish Knows” — John Hendrix. Fourth Place: Fuller, “Shalom City” — Denise Klitsie. Fifth Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse, “Bible Timeline” — Luke Flowers.

Personality Article

First Place: Cru Storylines, “An Unlikely Missionary Revives Hope on the Reservation” — Rebecca Kelsall. Second Place: Focus on the Family, “Two and a Half Hours With Audrey” — Pam Woody. Third Place: Christianity Today Online, “Because God Is: A Tribute to Robert W. Jenson (1930-2017)” — Mathew J. Argon Bruce. Fourth Place: The Living Church, “Becoming Lewis” — Retta Blaney. Fifth Place: Today’s Christian Living, “Living Proof” — Dan Brownell.

Photo Feature

First Place: Cru Storylines, “How can Art be a Bridge to the World?” — Tom Mills Caroline Colby-Gonzales, Rebecca Kelsall, Rachel Ferchak. Second Place: World Vision Magazine, “For Want of Water” — Jon Warren, Kathryn Reid. Third Place: Illinois Baptist, “Following the Savior” — Lindsay McDonald, Meredith Flynn, Eric Reed, Kris Kell. Fourth Place: The Living Church, “From Captivity to Freedom” — Asher Imtiaz, Mari Reitsma Chevako. Fifth Place: Pursuit, “Take a Deep Breath: Student’s Battle with Cystic Fibrosis Results in Newfound Trust” — Lauren Shelburne.

Photography Use

First Place: World Vision Magazine — Jon Warren, Laura Reinhardt, Eugene Lee, Chris Huber, Heather Klinger. Second Place: Compassion Magazine — Leanna Summers, Willow Welter, Mark Kyle. Third Place: In Touch Magazine.

Poetry

First Place: Crux, “Simon Hears Tell of the Crucifixion” — Sarah Crowley Chestnut. Second Place: DTS Student Paper, “An Imago Dei for Colored People” — Christian Williams. Third Place: Mutuality, “A Prayer for Women in 2017: Remember Your Daughters” — Rachel Asproth. Fourth Place: Sojourners, “Patmos” — Troy D. Reeves. Fifth Place: The Banner, “All Creatures” — Trudy VanderVeen.

Publication Design

First Place: In Touch Magazine — Metaleap Creative. Second Place: Influence — Steve Lopez, George O. Wood, Rick Knoth. Third Place: Answers Magazine — Dan Stelzer, Chris Neville. Fourth Place: Christianity Today — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon. Fifth Place: The Brink — Stephen Nelson, Sondra Blackburn, Andrea Young, Danny Conn.

Publication Redesign

First Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse — Jenny Dillon. Second Place: Ministry & Leadership — Bill Henderson, Brad Tisdale, Paul Schwarz, Catherine Bruce, Dr. Ligon Duncan, Matt McQuade. Third Place: Christian Leader — Connie Faber, Shelley Plett. Fourth Place: The Seed Company Magazine — Rick Dembicki. Fifth Place: World Vision Magazine — Mike Ryan, Ashley Walton, Elizabeth Hendley, Kristy O’Hara, Heather Klinger, Phil Manzano.

Reporting

First Place: Christianity Today, “Bringing Light to the Trafficking Fight” — Kate Shellnutt. Second Place: World Vision Magazine, “Battlefield of Hunger” — Kari Costanza. Third Place: Christian Leader, “Three Jeremys Find Shalom in Fresno” — Kathy Heinrichs Wiest. Fourth Place: Sojourners, “Robert E. Lee Worshipped Here” — Betsy Shirley. Fifth Place: Facts & Trends, “Beyond Bars: Prison Ministry Starts with a Simple Act of Faith” — Bob Smietana.

Single Photo: Candid

First Place: World Vision Magazine Online, “Zambian Woman” — Jon Warren. Second Place: Alliance Life, “Alliance Life” — Herbert Shao. Third Place: Cru Storylines, “Guatemala Women” — Ted Wilcox. Fourth Place: World Vision Magazine, “East Africa Hunger Crisis” — Jon Warren. Fifth Place: Concordia Seminary Magazine, “Call Day Joy” — Sid Hastings.

Single Photo: Controlled

First Place: World Vision Magazine Online, “A Boy With His Goat” — Jon Warren. Second Place: World Vision Magazine, “A Hurting Mother” — Laura Reinhardt. Third Place: Cru Storylines, “Artist Portrait – Opening Image” — Tom Mills. Fourth Place: Christianity Today, “The Migrant Missionaries” — Zachary Bako. Fifth Place: Answers Magazine, “Whitcomb Cover” — Chris Neville.

Single-Theme Section or Issue

First Place: Compassion Magazine, “Honoring God’s Work in India” — Leanna Summers, Willow Welter, Mark Kyle. Second Place: Facts & Trends, “Unchurched America: Who Are They and How Do We Reach Them?” — Carol Pipes, Alvin Reid, Scott McConnell, Jim Burnett, Bob Smietana. Third Place: Christian History, “Faith in the Foxholes: Seeking Hope Amidst War’s Despair” — Jennifer Woodruff Tait, Dawn Moore, Doug Johnson, Kaylena Radcliff, Dan Graves, Jeff Webb. Fourth Place: Decision, “The Bible.” Fifth Place: Focus on the Family, “40th Anniversary issue.”

Standing Column

First Place: The Covenant Companion, “Jelani Greenidge” — Jelani Greenidge. Second Place: World Vision Magazine, “President’s Letter” — Richard Stearns. Third Place: Sojourners, “Eyes & Ears” — Danny Duncan Collum. Fourth Place: Christianity Today, “Spirited Life” — Andrew Wilson. Fifth Place: In Touch Magazine, “Chapter and Verse” — Joshua Ryan Butler, Adam Cruft.

Student Writer of the Year

First Place: The Covenant Companion, “Theology of the Undead” — Zachary Lee. Second Place: The Threefold Advocate, “March of the DREAMers: Hundreds March in Protest of DACA Repeal” — Samuel Cross-Meredith. Third Place: Pursuit, “Social Media Distortion: Critical Influence of the Internet on Body Image” — Kaitlynn Labit. Fourth Place: The Beacon Today, “Catchall: A Beacon Today Podcast, Ep. 1: Hype” — Zoe Hazen. Fifth Place: The Chimes, “Students Encounter Assault Suspect” — Christian Leonard.

Table of Contents

First Place: One Magazine — Eric K. Thomsen, Mary Ann Martin, Marianne Stewart. Second Place: Compassion Magazine — Leanna Summers, Willow Welter, Mark Kyle. Third Place: Light Magazine — Jacob Blaze, Dan Darling, Marie Delph, Lindsay Nicolet, Jason Thacker. Fourth Place: Just Between Us — Perso Kelly, Shelly Esser, Suzan Bran. Fifth Place: Outreach Magazine — James Long, Tim Downs, Meredee Berg, Lora Schrock, Lindsey Lafferty.

Titles

First Place: Christianity Today, “How Do You Solve a Theological Problem Like Maria, Grace First or Grace Alone?, The Promise and Failure of Antibiotics” — Andy Olsen, Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon. Second Place: The Covenant Companion, “Fleeing to Bethlehem, There’s No Crying in VBS, Breaking the Silence.” Third Place: EFCA Now, “Have Golf Carts. Just Might Change the World, When All That’s Left Is the Floor, #MeWithYouToo” — Diane McDougall, Abby Farson Pratt, Rae Phillips. Fourth Place: Focus on the Family Clubhouse, “Show & Shell, To the Top With Tyler, Anteaters Can’t Chew Bubble Gum” — Jesse Florea, Stephen O’Rear, Jenny Dillon. Fifth Place: Sojourners, “Decolonizing the Church, The Internet Eudureth Forever…, Never Found the Body” — Jim Rice, Ed Spivey, Jr.

Two-Page Spread Design

First Place: Christianity Today, “The Promise and Failure of Antibiotics” — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon. Second Place: Influence, “The Protestant Reformation: Why It Still Matters to Pentecostals” — Steve Lopez. Third Place: In Touch Magazine, “Designed for Life” — Matt Johnstone. Fourth Place: Focus on the Family, “Big, Scary News” — Pawel Jonca. Fifth Place: Answers Magazine, “Jellyfish” — Chris Neville.

Typography and Lettering

First Place: Influence, “The Protestant Reformation: Why It Still Matters to Pentecostals” — Steve Lopez. Second Place: Christianity Today, “Who Comes to Steal, Kill and Destroy?” — Alecia Sharp, Sarah Gordon, Von Glitschka. Third Place: In Touch Magazine, “Questioning God” — Eric Capossela. Fourth Place: Answers Magazine, “What a Fish Knows” — John Hendrix.

Website Design

First Place: World Vision Magazine Online — Kristy O’Hara, Elizabeth Hendley, Heather Klinger, Phil Manzano, Zack Bryant, Dan Roney. Second Place: Concordia Seminary Magazine Online — Jayna Rollings, Katie Werges, Melanie Ave, Jazzy Danziger, Tim Gieseking, Lewis Mendez. Third Place: Cru Storylines — Rachel Ferchak, Guy Gerrard, Mark Winz, Journey Group. Fourth Place: Light + Life Magazine Online — Jay Cordova, Douglas Britt, Jake Blythe. Fifth Place: The Voice of the Martyrs.