“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16
Lesson
What You Will Learn
- Plan a simple, safe book launch
- Use church, community, and readings to share a book within any supervision conditions
- Plan ministry use, such as giving books to prisons and churches
- Present your Book Proposal & Publishing Plan and celebrate completing the certificate
Lesson Notes
A Simple Launch Plan
A launch is how you introduce your book to readers. It does not have to be large. A simple plan includes: a release date, a list of people to tell, a few early readers who might share honest reviews, a short announcement, and one event. Start telling people a few weeks before release, not the day of.
Write a timeline backward from your release date: final edits, formatting, cover, proof copy, launch announcements, and the event.
Simple Marketing: Church, Community, Readings
Your best first readers are often people who already know you: your church, ministry partners, reentry programs, and community groups. Ask your pastor whether you can share a brief testimony or host a book table. Offer a reading at a library, community center, or women's ministry.
If you are under supervision, check with your supervising officer before traveling for events, speaking publicly, using social media, or contacting organizations connected to your past. Keep your safety plan from CWP 221: share only what you have chosen to share.
Your Book as Ministry
Many authors set aside copies to give away: to women's prisons and jails, reentry programs, churches, shelters, and recovery ministries. Each facility has its own rules for receiving books, often requiring books to be new and sent directly from a publisher, retailer, or approved vendor. Contact the chaplain's office first and follow the rules exactly.
Jesus said, I was in prison, and ye came unto me (Matthew 25:36). Your book can visit women you will never meet. That is ministry, whether you sell ten copies or ten thousand.
Commissioning: Sent to Write
You began this certificate learning that the redeemed of the LORD should say so (Psalm 107:2). You wrote your testimony, devotions, and revisions, and now you have a plan to publish. Like Isaiah, you can answer, Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:8).
In our final session we will celebrate, present projects, and pray a commissioning blessing over each graduate. You leave with a finished piece of your story and a plan to share it in God's time.
Key Terms
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Launch | The planned introduction of a book to readers |
| Early readers | People who read a book before release and may share honest feedback or reviews |
| Ministry copies | Books set aside to give away for outreach |
| Commissioning | A prayer of blessing sending someone out to serve |
In-Class Activities
Launch & Ministry Map
Draw a timeline from today to a possible release date. Mark at least eight steps. Then list three places you could share your book (church, community, reading) and two ministries that might receive donated copies, with a note to check their rules and your conditions of release.
Certificate Commissioning
Share one piece of your Book Proposal & Publishing Plan (title, cover sketch, or description) with the class. Then receive the commissioning prayer and your Christian Writing & Publishing Certificate.
Assignment: Final Project Submission
Submit your Book Proposal & Publishing Plan (see the Final Project section). Include a one-page reflection on what you learned across the certificate and your next step as a writer.
Graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Reflection Journal
Matthew 5:16 asks us to let our light shine so others glorify our Father. How has writing your story changed you? What do you hope a reader will see of God in your book?
Prayer focus: Thank God for the story He has written in your life, and ask Him to send your words where He wills, for His glory.
Weekly Reading & Devotions
Sent With Your Story
Jesus said, Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel (Matthew 5:15). Your story was not given to you only to be hidden. In God's time and in God's way, it can give light to others.
A launch does not need to be big. A church announcement, a reading at a library, a table after a women's ministry gathering, a handful of early readers: these are faithful beginnings. If you are under supervision, check with your supervising officer before events, travel, or social media, and keep your safety plan close.
Your book can also visit places you cannot. Women in prisons, jails, shelters, and reentry programs may read your words on a hard night. Contact the chaplain's office first and follow every rule. Jesus counted visits to prisoners as visits to Himself (Matthew 25:36).
You have finished the course. You wrote your testimony, devotions, and revisions, and now you have a plan to publish. As you receive your certificate and the commissioning prayer, hear the words of Isaiah: Here am I; send me. Go in peace, and let your light shine.
Think About It
- Where do you hope your book will go? ______________________
- Who will you ask to pray over your book and launch? ______________________
- What is your very next step as a writer? ______________________
Daily Devotions for Week 8
Let Your Light Shine
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.— Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
The goal is not your name in lights, but God glorified.
Reflect: How can your book point to God?
Pray: Lord, let my light glorify You.
Do: Write one sentence about why you are publishing.
I Was in Prison
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.— Matthew 25:36 (KJV)
Sending books to women in prison is a way of visiting Christ Himself.
Reflect: Which ministry could receive your book?
Pray: Lord, send my words to those who need them.
Do: List two ministries to contact someday.
Here Am I
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.— Isaiah 6:8 (KJV)
God calls and sends. Your yes is enough to begin.
Reflect: Where is God sending you?
Pray: Lord, here am I; send me.
Do: Write your commissioning prayer in your own words.
Not Return Void
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.— Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
God's word does its work. When your book carries His truth, it will not be wasted.
Reflect: What do you trust God to do through your words?
Pray: Lord, accomplish Your purpose through my book.
Do: Copy this verse inside the cover of your notebook.
Finished My Course
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.— 2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)
You have finished this course and this certificate. Celebrate God's faithfulness.
Reflect: What are you most thankful for in this certificate?
Pray: Lord, thank You for carrying me to the finish.
Do: Write a letter to yourself to open on your book's release day.
Module Quiz
- 1.
A simple launch plan should start:
- 2.
Before sending donated books to a prison or jail, you should:
- 3.
A person under supervision should check with her supervising officer before:
- 4.
A book only counts as ministry if it sells many copies.
- 5.
Name three simple ways to share a new book with readers.