Connect  is primarily targeted at adults whose ministry with young people is their vocation-their primary calling-whether or not they are paid. Our readers are professionals, and we treat them as such, so we don't pander. We avoid patronizing or condescending to our readers, and we don't try to oversimplify the complexities of life and ministry. We accompany one another in our ministries with young people.

All articles must be crisp, focused, and provocative-with a definite slant to those who minister to students through the ELCA congregations. We seek a balance of articles that are “practical” and “how to”, and articles that interpret academic and theological thought.  Our hope is that the articles inspire reflection about people’s ministry, and challenges people to continue to grow in their skills.

Do not submit academic dissertations, though articles arising from original research (or reviews of others' research) are welcomed! As a professional journal, we try to be academic in thought-level while being conversational in tone. We want to balance sound scholarship with accessibility to the practitioner. Avoid general discussions and harangues about standards, humanism, relativism, or principles for this or that. Season and strengthen your articles with research findings and quotations from other youth workers, parents, kids, authorities, experts, and specialists.

Full-length print features range between 1,500 and 2,200 words, though we also publish some sidebar-length articles at 200-450 words. Article length is less important than quality of the content. We don't want writers to think about length as much as about saying something substantial-and saying it clearly and spiritedly.

Many of the articles in Connect are designed around a theme, though not all. If you have article ideas on the theme, write " article proposal" in the e-mail subject field, and send an outline and opening paragraph by the deadline to Erin Gibbons.  If you have ideas on a non-thematic topic, send an e-mail with "non-thematic article proposal" in the e-mail subject field.

In your proposal, include in the body of the e-mail your contact information, a professional bio, and a list of any previously published articles or books. Also include the overall scope of your article idea and a sample of its style; we recommend an outline and opening paragraph. If you've written the entire article already, you're certainly welcome to send the whole thing. We'd also like for you to attach an electronic picture of yourself if possible, because we publish bios and pics with articles upon acceptance.
If we ask you for a manuscript, we'd like the article in electronic form, preferably in Microsoft Word, with a minimal amount of formatting, especially the auto-formatting features (simple Rich Text Format is actually preferred). We'll give you a deadline that's important to meet, as you may need to rewrite a couple of times. Consult any freelancer's guide or manual for general advice on writing, although Connect conforms to the Chicago Manual of Style for most stylistic issues.

If we select your article for publication as a full-length print feature, we'll also need the picture of you to be high resolution. Specifically, we need it to be at least 300 dpi at 2" high if it's a frontal headshot. We also welcome creative images that include you in ministry with young people, provided the images are high-res. Images will need to be in .pdf, .eps, .tif, or .jpg formats. Please avoid using the following formats: .bmp, .ai, .gif, and .psd. Whenever possible, we prefer the files to be RGB or CMYK, and we also prefer them to be saved as a Mac file. And 300 dpi for between 6" wide or wider.

We generally pay $50 for sidebar-length and full-length Web articles, and $200 for full-length print features. We also only publish articles for which authors allow us unrestricted rights to continual use of the content, which means that we can republish them again in any form without further concession or permission on the part of the author. We do allow authors (in fact, we'd encourage you) to seek publication of the article(s) in other print and electronic venues, provided it's attributed to Connect.

Send your bio along with your picture and article to Erin Gibbons at Erin@WelllspringEditorial.com.  Also include a mailing address where we can send your check.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.   

The Connect editorial team