Christian Retailing

Jerry Jenkins closes Christian Writers Guild Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Thursday, 13 November 2014 12:57 PM America/New_York

JerryJenkins-webThe Christian Writers Guild (CWG) is dissolving after 50 years in business. Author Jerry B. Jenkins has owned and operated CWG for 14 years, and in 2013, launched a custom publishing house, Christian Writers Guild Publishing.

Aiming to “train tomorrow’s Christian professional writers,” CWG had more than 1,000 members worldwide, according to its Facebook page. The guild ran an email correspondence course and assigned each student a seasoned professional to mentor them throughout the program. CWG also operated the Writing for the Soul conference.

“I’m a bit melancholy, but I have a heart full of wonderful memories too,” said Jenkins in a posting to CWG’s site. “It’s been a great ride. I’ve been blessed to be able to give back to an industry that has been so good to me, and it’s been a privilege to help train thousands of writers and try to restock the pool of Christian authors.”

With a belief in “finishing well,” Jenkins promised CWG members that they would receive all of the benefits that came with membership. Jenkins also invited questions or comments, which can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To “fill the void” left after CWG’s closure, Dave Sheets, former CWG president, and Rebeca Seitz, CEO of Spirit of Naples, a nonprofit film festival and developer of Christian entertainment, have formed the nonprofit BelieversTrust. 

TheBelieversGroup now comprises BelieversTrust, which will train Christian writers, and BelieversMedia, which will provide publishing services. Sheets will run BelieversMedia from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Seitz will run BelieversTrust from Naples, Florida. Julie Boynton, former educational director for CWG, is joining the staff of BelieversTrust.

BelieversTrust (believerstrust.org) courses will begin Jan. 1.