Minnesota Christian Writers Guild

Author Christmas Night
2025-12-08 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
Join us for a special night where MCWG authors showcase their books, services, and more. We’ll have loads of fun, writing prompts, topics of choice, and so much more. You will not want to miss this opportunity to to grab those last minute Christmas gifts, and enjoy some fellowship with fellow authors and take your writing to the next level!
If you’re a paid member use this link to sign up for a table:

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Jerusha Clark | Exploring New Ways to Write
2026-01-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
Synopsis: Most writers begin with what they know, exploring the themes or stories in their own minds. There are other ways to expand one’s writing abilities, however, ways that stretch a writer beyond his or her thoughts and life experiences. In this presentation, you’ll learn about research-based nonfiction and collaborative writing (formerly known as ghost writing). Your presenter, Jerusha Clark, writes in both genres extensively and will guide you through some basics and beyond.
Presenter Bio: Jerusha Clark is the author, co-author or collaborative writer of twenty books. She began by co-authored four books, including three bestsellers, with her husband, Jeramy, prior to launching her own writing and speaking ministry. Through Be Transformed ministry, Jerusha focuses on helping others glorify and enjoy God, one thought at a time. On quiet days, you can find Jerusha reading, snorkeling, or bodyboarding at the beach, her absolute favorite place. Jerusha and Jeramy have two amazing adult daughters and love ministering together at churches, retreats, schools, conferences, and as shepherds to pastors and ministry leaders through Standing Stone Ministry.
Event Cost: $25 for non-members
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The AI Advantage | Jason Sisam
2026-02-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
*Can you spot how much of this was written by AI vs how much was written by me? — I’ll be asking the night I speak.
Synopsis: We are living in the age of “Knight Rider”—artificial intelligence is here to stay, transforming every aspect of our lives from creative work to everyday tasks. This session is a deep dive into how podcasters, writers, and content creators can strategically leverage tools like Google Gemini and ChatGPT to supercharge their output without sacrificing their unique voice.
We explore AI as a powerful brainstorming and organizational tool, demonstrating how to use it for tight outlines, compelling descriptions, and content repurposing (even generating a song from show notes!). However, we provide crucial warnings against skill erosion and over-reliance, emphasizing that high-quality output depends solely on high-quality human input. Learn to master the tools, maintain human oversight, perform fact-checking, and navigate the ethical minefields of deep fakes and data privacy.
The takeaway? AI is not a replacement, but an accelerator. Use it wisely to move forward, not backward, making your message clearer and your job easier.
Presenter Bio: Jason (J. B.) Sisam is the bestselling author of Divine Moments, a moving narrative that blends sports drama with profound themes of family, faith, and survival. As an ordained pastor and licensed financial advisor, Jason’s message is built on two decades of ministry and practical experience. As the President of the Minnesota Christian Writer’s Guild, his passion is to help others find clarity and purpose. Jason powerfully equips audiences to find their voice, write their stories, and succeed in life, delivering the practical motivation necessary to achieve their God-given potential in family, ministry, and business.
Website: https://jasonsisam.com
Event Cost: $25 for non-members
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Storytelling and the Gospel | Karen Ingle
2026-03-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
Synopsis: From “the greatest story ever told” comes a storytelling framework as universal as the cosmos and as unique as you. Writers of virtually any story can use this familiar framework to decide what to include, what to leave out, and next steps to take toward getting your story told.
Presenter Bio: Karen Ingle enjoys raising chickens, teaching, and writing. Especially writing. She is a freelance writer, editor, and ghostwriter, as well as the author of a slow-growing series of novels based on true stories of women facing life-and-death choices for their unborn children. In the course of her research and many interviews, Karen has discovered that human stories possess beautiful uniqueness alongside astonishing similarity. Now she’s excited to pass on some of the insights that will help you write the story that is uniquely yours.
Karen’s Website: https://kareninglefreelance.com
Cost of this event is $25 for non members
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Joel Warne | INSIDE MOVES: Inner Life Writing for Small Groups
2026-04-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
Synopsis: Once, in a dream, a woman saw an immense logjam clogging a river. The jumbled logs stretched for miles, locked against each other at crazy angles. God asked the dreamer, “How are we going to free these logs?” She replied doubtfully, “I guess we need to untangle them so they face the same direction.” God said, “I have a different idea.” The next moment, the level of the water began to rise—and carried the heap away. Anxieties, yearnings and pain exist in a tangle in each human heart like private logjams. As Christian writers, we address the tangle. Where do we find words that speak of deep places in God’s Spirit where painful knots are soothed and undone? How can our writing move beyond religious chatter toward becoming a well of refreshment that saturates and buoys lives in Christ? This presentation will ponder the writer’s craft of drawing words from deep places, with a special emphasis on shaping them into resources that help small groups glimpse new, life-giving possibilities in God.
Presenter Bio: Joel Warne is the author of refreshing inner life resources and co-founder of WellSpring Life Resources. A teacher, spiritual director and retreat leader, Joel helps groups explore paths to transforming daily life with God. He’s the author of small group and personal resources including: “Soul Craving: An Invitation to the Feast,” “How to Eat Your Bible: God’s Word as Food for Your Soul,” and his most recent group resource, “Inside Moves: Falling, Rising, Becoming.” Joel and his wife, Gerri, a Therapist and WellSpring co-founder, live in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Joel’s website: https://wellrefreshed.com
Cost of the Event $25 for non-members
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Multi-Author Collections – How to collaborate without losing your mind.
2026-05-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, MN, 55305, United States
Synopsis: A panel of seasoned authors who have collaborated many times in collections, addressing the challenges and rewards and taking questions from the audience. Moderated by Erica Vetsch
Erica Vetsch: Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com and you can find her on Facebook at The Inspirational Regency Readers Group where she spends way too much time! Her website is https://ericavetsch.com
Stacy Monson: Stacy Monson is the author of the award-winning Chain of Lakes series and is a founding member of The Mosaic Collection. She lives outside the Twin Cities metro area with 15 chickens, an old dog, and lots of wildlife (which includes 7 grandchildren). Her website is https://stacymonson.com
Cost of this event is $25 for non-members
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The Writer in You with Michelle Medlock Adams
2026-07-27 19:00 - 20:30
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Michelle shares how each person has something unique to say to the world—that there’s “a writer” in all of us just waiting to be expressed. The Bible tells us to write the vision… have you done that? Is your faith stirred up? Are you pressing toward the finish line, walking in your calling, running your race? God has called you to do something that no one else can do the same, special way that you can. That’s why He called you. So, write that vision and lace up your tennis shoes. The race is on!
Presenter Bio: Michelle Medlock Adams is a best-selling author and an award-winning journalist, earning top honors from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Hoosier State Press Association to name a few. Author of over 100 books with more than 4 million books sold, Michelle is also a New York Times Bestselling ghostwriter and has won more than 90 industry awards for her own journalistic endeavors.
When not working on her own assignments, Michelle ghostwrites articles, blog posts, and books for celebrities, politicians, and some of today’s most effective and popular ministers. Michelle is celebrating her recent releases: The Dachshund Dash, Faith & Football: 30 Inspirations from IU’s Storybook Season, and her upcoming release, Love is… (December 2026).
Michelle is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and they have two daughters, Abby and Allyson, two sons-in-law, four granddaughters and two grandsons. She and Jeff share their home in Southern Indiana with three miniature dachshunds and two spoiled kitties. When not writing or teaching writing, Michelle enjoys bass fishing, cheering on Indiana University sports teams, watching Doris Day movies, and all things leopard print.

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