This year (2013) saw the number of young writers from Australia and New Zealand rise to 50 which provided10 articles each week in two separate Christian Today columns.
Each morning the two 'young writer' Christian Today published articles are circulated to other Australian and New Zealand Christian media inviting them to republish, likewise each Friday morning to an international data base. Thirdly and primarily, the program provides the next generation's young Christian leaders a Voice.
It is one thing to be published in your local church monthly magazine, but it is quite another, to have a regular monthly article published in Christian Today whose London headquarters boast the world's third largest Christian news on-line provider behind the USA's Christian Post and USA's Christianity Today News.
There are two quite separate increases in young writers in 2014.
Young writers returning
There are a number of young writers returning who had previously been in the program -
Merewyn Foran from Melbourne, Elesha Edmonds and Peter Rope from Auckland and Cherisse Mathew from Sydney.
Elesha Edmonds has won a scholarship to Denmark in relation to foreign correspondence skills, and joins the ranks of the PSI international young writers -
The international young writer team
Genevieve Wilson - Canada
Oscar Duan - China
Daniel Jang - Mission
Lisa Goetze - Canada
Kandima Awendila - ambique
Tina Hakimi - USA
Dan Peterson - USA
Leanne Van Rensburg - South Africa
Sharma Taylor - Jamaica
New Young Writers
We have already seen a number of new young writers who have joined the team, Helen McIntosh, Cody Knox and Harriet Campbell all from Wellington NZ and Janetta Hayden from Perth.
Janetta Hayden who lives in Perth Western Australia with her husband, is the sister of New Zealand young writer Peter Rope. This is not the first brother–sister combination, Sydney's Grace and Daniel Mathew are also young writers and Cherisse is returning. We even have a husband and wife young writer team, Perth's Nathanael and Clarissa Yates and Christchurch sisters Mercy Cornish and Sophia Sinclair.
New 2014 young writers are Tim Robertson from Sydney and Alex Gillespie of Wollongong.
Young writers PK's (Pastor's Kids) are: Grace, Daniel and Cherisse Mathew; Sophia Sinclair and Mercy Cornish, Elesha Edmonds, Wesley Tronson, Nathanael Yates, Sam Manchester and Josh Hinds.
2013 saw three mini-conferences of young writers. In March there were two, Auckland and Christchurch, and September in Melbourne, the Australian and New Zealand young writers awards.
PSI is a fabulous program and without exception, everyone is looking forward to 2014 with much anticipation. Over the summer, to give everyone a break, the Best of 2013 of each young writer's articles are republished.
Christian Today has sought PSI to again increase the numbers to a third young writer's article for each week day. The program invites young people between the age of 18-30 who have an interest to contact me – Dr Mark Tronson timeout@bushorchestra.com or ring 0487 245 207
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html