Words created the world and the organisers of the first ‘Faithful Writer’ conference are hoping Christians will use them to transform it.
Tony Payne, publishing director of Matthias Media ranks good writing on the same level as good preaching.
"Writing is important for the same reason as speaking and proclaiming are important," he says.
"There are lots of preaching conferences but writing is not something we talk about often " it's time to champion the cause of the written word as an important and useful way of teaching, evangelising and proclaiming."
He says he sees a "great need" to motivate and inspire Christian writers.
"I want to flush them out of the woodwork and give them a vision of what the possibilities are.”
Tony also hopes this conference " a joint initiative between the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education (CASE) and Matthias Media - will get Christian writers comparing notes.
"Because writing is a broad category, and people communicate in the written word in different forms, we want to talk about these different forms and contexts," he says.
The conference targets "anyone who already uses or would like to use writing to communicate Christ or a Christian worldview", and will deal with topics such as writing for impact, Christians and fiction, writing as a ministry and writing for the internet, through panels of specialists offering ideas and tips.
Net the new way to fellowship
One of the panellists will be Leichhardt ministry assistant and prolific blogger, Byron Smith.
Byron has been blogging since May last year and appreciates the opportunity it has given him to write for and read about people in his own circle and beyond.
"You're not just reading about what Christian brothers and sisters think, you're interacting with them," he says.
Byron expects the conference will provide a valuable opportunity for Christian writers to network and encourage one another face-to-face.
"Writing, perhaps more than other ministries, can be a little isolating," he says. "You are interacting with people but the interaction is less direct."
Writing for the internet does have its dangers though, he adds.
"One of the challenges of blogging, and interacting on blogs, is that it's much easier than in a face-to-face situation to be rude - people can write things they would never say, so there's a challenge to be generous."
The internet also has potential in providing a less intimidating and more accessible forum for people to find out about Christianity, he says.
"It's much easier for someone to have a look, to dip their toe in, without needing to buy a book - blogging is a bit like having nibblies rather than a main course."
