introducing the

Essay Prize

Can you explain to a non-specialist
how the most important features of your field relate to Christ?

Essay Theme

How does Scripture's revelation of Christ in the gospel illuminate your field? What aspects of your field bear witness to the existence of God, and how might some of its aspirations be fulfilled in Christ? Why not take this opportunity to share your knowledge?

Call for Submissions

The Gospel and Academia Project invites evangelical scholars from all academic disciplines to participate in an essay competition on the relationship between Christ and their academic field. Winning essays will receive a monetary prize and be considered for publication on the Gospel and Academia Project’s website.

Prizes:
1st place: EUR 350
2nd place: EUR 150
3rd place: EUR 50

Submission deadline: 20 June 2025

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Submission Guidelines

Scholars must be enrolled in a Master’s or PhD programme (or have graduated from one)

Scholars must affirm the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students’ Statement of Faith.

Essay deadline: 20 June 2025. A submission link will appear on this page in April.

We regret that we will be unable to enter into dialogue about any proposed contributions before they are submitted.

Length: 2000-2500 words (excl. footnotes), covering each of the two aspects outlined in the essay brief below (‘From Christ to Your Field’, and ‘From Your Field to Christ’)

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Essay Brief

Colossians 1:15-20 says that everything – including your academic field – comes from Christ and exists through and to Christ. We believe that Christian scholars ought to be able to understand how this relates to their own field, and to be able to explain it to educated laymen.

To that end, please write an essay that covers the following two areas (‘from Christ to your field’ and ‘from your field to Christ’). One way to do that is by answering one or more of the questions listed under the two headings below, but please feel free to approach the two areas from different angles if that suits your area of expertise better.

1. From Christ to Your Field: How does Scripture’s revelation of Christ in the gospel illuminate your field?

This is an opportunity to show how God’s word sheds light on your field and how living in light of it contributes to the common good. How does God’s word help Christians in your academic field exercise their role as stewards over creation in this age?

Questions you might explore include:

Unrecognised Christian foundations: Consider how Christian beliefs have historically underpinned your field or continue to contribute to its flourishing, even if their contributions are not currently widely acknowledged.
Scripture’s evaluation of contemporary issues in your field: Analyse aspects of your academic field that may be at odds with biblical teaching. For example, where has your discipline strayed from the principles of righteousness, justice, or truth? Are there prevailing trends, ideologies, or practices in your field that Scripture challenges?
Reimaging the future of your field in the light of Scripture: Reflect on how your discipline could be reshaped to better align with biblical truth. What are some realistic and constructive ways in which your field could be developed to serve the common good more effectively?

2. From Your Field to Christ: What aspects of your field bear witness to the existence of God, and how might some of its aspirations be fulfilled in Christ?

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1,9)

This is an opportunity to provide commentary on the way your field acts as a signpost toward the One from whom, and for whom it exists. What in your field gives you reason to praise God (either for his work in creation or redemption), and how can you share those reasons for praise with others, so that your worship becomes witness? How can your academic expertise contribute to a persuasive cultural apologetic, so that people in your field might hear the gospel, and come to faith in Christ?

Questions you might explore include:

Expanding the horizon: How does my field depend on deeper principles outside itself? In what ways does it point beyond itself to something greater – whether in terms of truth, beauty, morality, or ultimate purpose?

Identifying the paradoxes: What are unresolved questions, tensions, or longings people in my field have or experience? What idols or distortions give rise to these issues? How does the gospel fulfil or reframe these issues?

Deepening our worship and witness: How can engagement with this field enrich our understanding of God’s character and deepen our worship of him? How might we invite others to see and respond to that truth, so that our worship overflows in witness in our workplace? What are practical ways we make use of our understanding of our field to introduce others to the hope of the gospel?

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Optional

Optional further reading:

For more information about the distinction between ‘from Christ to our field’ and ‘from our field to Christ’, see A Shared Mission.
- For a lecture on contributing to your field in light of the gospel, see here.
- For a lecture on moving from your field to Christ, see here.
For more on the relationship between Christ and academic work, see the article series 7 Key Biblical Themes. That series outlines key themes in Scripture that when taken together, show how (academic) work and evangelism relate to each other. For your essay you may wish to focus on the implications of just one of those themes, or the framework as a whole.