Contribute

Write for The Lutheran Witness

The Lutheran Witness welcomes unsolicited manuscripts and queries related to our upcoming themes and to topics of general interest to an LCMS audience. Send your query using the form below. Please include a short summary of the article you propose, links to your previously published work (or a short sample of your writing, if no links are available) and a biographical statement that outlines your credentials and includes, if applicable, the LCMS congregation where you currently serve as a church worker or are an active member. While our editors cannot respond to every query, we will reply if we decide to explore further or accept your proposal. Please note that print issues are planned at least three months in advance.

Upcoming themes for 2027: 

  • The Body as Temple 
  • All Tribes and Nations 
  • Creator and Creation
  • Conflict and Reconciliation 
  • The Body of Christ
  • The Christian Household
  • Behaving in Public
  • Technology
  • The Office of Pastor
  • Global Lutheranism

If accepted, articles should be written using the AP Stylebook, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition) and the LCMS Stylebook. Citations, where needed, should follow The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition). Please quote Scripture from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless the wording of the story requires a different version.

Here is what you can expect:

Submit your article

Submit your article using the LW website.

Notification

If the article is accepted, you will receive an email from the editor to that effect and a contract for the article.

Editing phase

The editor will revise the manuscript and discuss these edits with the author. Final decision on editing belongs to LW.

Doctrinal review

Article will be sent through doctrinal review.

Compensation

You receive compensation for your article. See below for more information.

Publishing

Article will be publishing in an upcoming issue of The Lutheran Witness.

Expect at least 3 months from submission of your article to
actual publication. In most cases, it will take longer. 

Payment for commissioned articles is on a sliding scale, based in part on both the article length and complexity and the author’s credentials. Payment will be processed after an author’s contract has been signed and returned and the article in question has successfully passed doctrinal review. Excerpts from forthcoming books are uncompensated, as both the author and publisher can reasonably expect to derive material benefits from the publicity of their work.

Submission Form

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