Submission Guidelines

Submission of Articles: The Great Commission Research Journal welcomes articles of original scholarship and of general interest dealing with all aspects of Church Growth, effective evangelism and successful Great Commission strategies. Reasoned responses to past articles will be considered, as well as book reviews. All manuscripts should not have been published elsewhere unless specifically approved by the editor.

  • Send two hard copies of the manuscript and an electronic copy on CD in Microsoft Word. The author’s name should appear only on a removable cover sheet. Before acceptance, submissions will be "masked" reviewed by appropriate referees.
  • Follow the guidelines for style found in The Chicago Manual of Style or K.L Turabian's Manual for Writers. Footnotes should be at the bottom of each page.
  • Include an abstract of no more than 100 words on a separate document.
  • In general, articles should be 12-15 pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font, excluding tables, figures, and references. All figures and graphics files should be included on separate documents. Book reviews should be 3 to 5 pages and responses 7 to 10 pages in length.
  • Include the following current vita information in a short biographical sketch (no more than 100 words) for each writer: contact information, title, degree(s), and institution(s) where earned, and specialization(s).
  • If not accepted for publication, manuscripts will only be returned if first-class postage is provided. If accepted for publication, we reserve the right to edit for usage and style. Upon acceptance, the author must submit a signed Copyright Agreement.
  • All manuscripts will be acknowledged promptly and processed as quickly as possible. Appearance of accepted articles in print is approximately six months or as forthcoming article backlog allows. Contributors receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which their article appears as well as a PDF version upon request.


Copyright: Copyrights on articles are held by Biola University with permission to re-publish given to the authors. Requests for permission to reproduce material from the Journal, except for brief quotations in scholarly reviews and publications, should be directed to the Academic Publications Office at Biola University.


Inquiries, Submissions, and Correspondence

  • All communication concerning subscriptions, change of address, back issue and article reprint orders, and nonreceipt of an issue should be sent to the Academic Publications Office, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, CA 90639-0001. Phone: 562-944-0351 x5321, Fax: 562-906-4547, E-mail: gcr.subscriptions @biola.edu
  • Articles related to North America should be submitted to Phil Stevenson, North American Editor, 2081 Land End Loop, Roseville, CA 95747. Phone: 317-468-3392. E-mail: pstevenson8@gmail.com.
  • Book reviews should be submitted to J.D. Payne, Book Review Editor, Church Planting Center, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2825 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40280. E-mail: jpayne@sbts.edu.
  • Inquiries and correspondence related to dissertation reviews should be sent to Gary McIntosh, Dissertation Editor, Talbot School of Theology, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, CA 90639-0001. Phone: 562-903-6000 ext. 5559, E-mail: cgnet@earthlink.net.
  • All submissions from outside North America and all other correspondence should be directed to Alan McMahan, General Editor, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, CA 90639-0001. Phone: 562-903-4844, ext. 3269; Fax: 562-903-4851, E-mail: alan.mcmahan@biola.edu.