PROFESSIONAL WRITING is essential to effective communication in ministry. Highlands College’s approach to writing reflects its core mission: students are holistically trained and equipped to share the Gospel clearly and persuasively across cultures and generations through written and oral communication.

“Writing is foundational. Without writing, we’re unable to communicate the ideas God is giving us with others and share the Gospel message around the world,” Marguerite Armistead, Director of the HC Writing Lab, explains. “God wrote the Bible for us—He’s a writer!”

At Highlands College, writing is a way to glorify Christ, and students are encouraged to embrace professional writing in diverse ways to engage the intended audience while staying true to the mission of sharing the Gospel.

Under the Foundational Studies Department, an eight-week course introduces students to rhetorical appeals—appealing to their readers’ reasoning skills, hearts and passions, ethics, and ability to trust—which helps them develop critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for compelling writing. Students engage with the works of renowned Christian apologists, like C.S. Lewis and William Lane Craig, and contrasting viewpoints to sharpen their ability to construct and deconstruct arguments effectively.

Formal writing, from the Latin word “forma,” means to mold or shape, reinforcing the idea that students must structure their writing appropriately for their audience. “The common denominator in all forms of writing,” Armistead shares, “is that we must decrease, and He must increase. The Holy Spirit gives us His ideas, and we mold and shape them into the expected form.”

Whether crafting persuasive essays, research papers, academic arguments, resumes, thank-you notes, or social media content, students’ professional writings must be factual, ethical, intentional, and biblical. At Highlands College, students think critically about their work as they present biblical ideas clearly and credibly. Through prayer, students actively invite God into the process and ask Him to provide words that will be meaningful and uplifting to the reader.

“We pray, we think, and then we write down those thoughts,” Armistead explains. “It’s a beautiful process—we intentionally think about our thinking because the most important thing when we speak or write is that our faith shines through.”

As students learn how to bring light and truth to the world through sharing the Gospel in various written and spoken forms, Armistead’s prayer speaks directly to the heart of Highlands College: “God, let them be shining instruments in Your hand with the Gospel they carry as laborers to the harvest field.”