Heather Thompson Day (born in Michigan; exact birth date not publicly documented) is an American communication professor, author, podcaster, and interdenominational Christian speaker.
Best known for her bestselling books on identity, relationships, and faith, Day teaches at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and founded Cross Communication, a ministry built around what she calls gospel-centered speech.
She hosts the podcast What If I’m Wrong? and has written for Christianity Today, Newsweek, and Religion News Service.
If you search her name, you’ll run into a problem fast. There’s a reality TV personality named Heather Thomson (different spelling, no relation) and an abstract painter named Heather Day.
Neither has anything to do with the woman in this article. The Heather Thompson Day covered here is the professor and author connected to Andrews University, married to pastor and educator Seth Day.
At a Glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Heather Thompson Day |
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Berrien Springs, Michigan |
| Occupation | Communication professor, author, speaker, podcaster |
| Spouse | Seth Day, pastor and educator (married roughly 2013–2014) |
| Children | London, Hudson, and Sawyer Day |
| Education | B.A. and M.A. in Communication, Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, Andrews University |
| Current role | Associate Professor of Communication, Andrews University |
| Past roles | Colorado Christian University; guest instructor, University of Notre Dame |
| Ministry | Founder, Cross Communication / It Is Day Ministries |
| Denomination | Interdenominational speaker; Andrews University is Seventh-day Adventist |
| Podcast | What If I’m Wrong? |
| Books | 9, including It’s Not Your Turn, I’ll See You Tomorrow, What If I’m Wrong? |
| Website | heatherthompsonday.com |
Early Life and Background
Heather Thompson Day grew up in Berrien Springs, Michigan, home to Andrews University, the school where she’d eventually earn three degrees and return to teach.
She and her future husband, Seth Day, actually met as kids at Ruth Murdoch Elementary School in Berrien Springs. They didn’t start dating then. That came years later, when adult life brought them back into each other’s orbit.
Her father spent his life in ministry. That detail matters more than it might sound. Day has talked openly about watching her dad serve faithfully for decades, then later watching Alzheimer’s take that same mind apart piece by piece. It shaped a lot of what she’d eventually write about faith and disappointment.
Education
Day earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication at Andrews University, then went back for a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration with a cognate in Communication.
Her academic home base has stayed Andrews University, a private Seventh-day Adventist institution, even as her career has carried her well outside Adventist circles.
Career and Academic Path
Day spent close to 15 years as a communication professor before stepping into ministry leadership full time. She taught public speaking, persuasion, and social media to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Along the way, she picked up a guest teaching stint at the University of Notre Dame, working with law and MBA students, and later held a position as Associate Professor of Communication at Colorado Christian University.
She’s back at Andrews University now, teaching in the visual arts, communication, and design department. Her husband Seth teaches there too, in public speaking and grief and loss courses. It’s a small-world kind of return. The professor who left Michigan came back to the same university that trained her.
I’m That Wife and Early Platform Building
Long before she had a publishing deal, Day built a following through a community called I’m That Wife, which grew to nearly 200,000 followers.
She’s spoken about reading 30 books a year and treating writing as something closer to a discipline than a hobby. That platform became the foundation for everything that came after: book deals, speaking invitations, and eventually her own podcast.
Rise to Prominence
Day’s visibility grew through a combination of academic credibility and consistent online writing. She became a contributor for Religion News Service, Newsweek, and the Barna Group, and her work has been featured on the Today Show and discussed by the National Communication Association. She’s also been interviewed by BBC Radio Live and The Wall Street Journal.
Her podcast, What If I’m Wrong?, launched in the top 200 of all Christian podcasts. She also previously hosted Viral Jesus, a show through Christianity Today that examined faith in digital spaces, comparison culture, and how Christians communicate online.
Books and Publications
Day has written nine books. Her early titles came through Adventist publishers like Pacific Press and Review & Herald, including Cracked Glasses and How to Feed the Mediavore. Her more recent work has reached a wider Christian readership through major publishers.
- It’s Not Your Turn (2021) — On comparison, social media, and waiting for your own breakthrough instead of measuring yourself against everyone else’s.
- I’ll See You Tomorrow (2022) — Co-written with her husband Seth, alternating chapters on relational resilience and the pull toward cancel culture in personal relationships.
- What If I’m Wrong? (2025) — Written during her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s, this one wrestles with what happens when your life doesn’t match the plan you assumed God had for you.
- Can I Sit Here? (2025) — A children’s picture book co-written with her daughter London, about loneliness and the courage it takes to make a new friend.
Publishers Weekly described What If I’m Wrong? as a transparent look at chasing dreams through disappointment, calling it useful for Christians unsure of their spiritual direction.
Personal Life
Day married Seth Day after the two reconnected as adults, having known each other since elementary school. They’ve now been married for around twelve years. Seth has worked as a pastor, campus chaplain, and youth and young adult minister, and holds a master’s in Human Service Counseling from Regent University.
The two co-wrote I’ll See You Tomorrow together, alternating chapters so readers could hear both perspectives on the same relational struggles.
They have three children: London, Hudson, and Sawyer. London co-authored Can I Sit Here? with her mother, based on London’s own experience navigating a new school and feeling left out.
The family lives in St. Joseph, Michigan, a small lake town that Day has described with real affection. She’s mentioned Silver Beach Pizza, a spot tucked inside an old train depot, as a go-to whenever she’s back home with the kids.
Family History and Reconciliation
Day has spoken candidly about her extended family’s history, including her grandfather’s estrangement from her own father over racial prejudice.
That relationship eventually mended through what she describes as prayer and reconciliation. It’s the kind of detail she tends to bring up not as a footnote, but as evidence that the gospel she writes about actually changes things inside a real family, not just in theory.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
Day describes herself as an interdenominational speaker. That word choice is deliberate. While she’s an Andrews University faculty member and a product of Adventist education, she doesn’t write or speak as a denominational gatekeeper.
Her ministry, Cross Communication (operating under the nonprofit It Is Day Ministries), is built around the idea that good communication should always point people back to the cross, regardless of which church pew they sit in.
Her own description of her calling is simple: to stand in the gaps of the church. In practice, that’s meant focusing heavily on women, on people who’ve drifted from faith communities, and on the specific loneliness that comes from comparing your life to a highlight reel on a screen.
Her email devotional, Friday Night Light, reaches more than 10,000 subscribers a week with that same blend of personal vulnerability and scriptural grounding.
Influence and Legacy
Day’s biggest contribution might be less about any single book and more about the model she’s built: academic credibility plus consistent online presence plus willingness to talk about real struggle.
She’s not selling a flawless Christian life. She’s writing from inside a marriage that needed real repair, a family history that needed real reconciliation, and a faith that’s had to survive watching her father lose his memory to disease.
That combination has made her a regular voice in spaces that don’t always overlap. She speaks to academic communication audiences and Christian women’s retreats.
She’s been on Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love podcast and on Christianity Today’s platforms, reaching readers who might never set foot in an Adventist church but who recognize the universal weight of disappointment, comparison, and grief.
Interesting Facts
- Day met her husband Seth in elementary school in Berrien Springs, Michigan, decades before they married.
- She taught law and MBA students as a guest instructor at the University of Notre Dame.
- Her email devotional, Friday Night Light, reaches more than 10,000 people every week.
- She co-wrote a children’s book, Can I Sit Here?, with her own daughter London.
- She reads roughly 30 books a year, a habit she credits with shaping her own writing voice.
- Her grandfather initially refused to walk her mother down the aisle due to racial prejudice toward her father; he later walked Heather down the aisle himself, at a wedding her father officiated.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Childhood | Grows up in Berrien Springs, Michigan; meets future husband Seth Day at Ruth Murdoch Elementary School |
| 2011–2014 | Publishes early titles including Hook Line and Sinker and Cracked Glasses through Adventist publishers |
| ~2013–2014 | Marries Seth Day |
| 2019 | Publishes Confessions of a Christian Wife |
| 2021 | Publishes It’s Not Your Turn with InterVarsity Press |
| 2022 | Co-authors I’ll See You Tomorrow with husband Seth Day |
| 2025 | Publishes What If I’m Wrong? and Can I Sit Here? (with daughter London) |
| 2025–2026 | Hosts What If I’m Wrong? podcast; returns to teaching at Andrews University; leads Cross Communication |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Heather Thompson Day?
Heather Thompson Day is an American communication professor, author, and Christian speaker known for books like It’s Not Your Turn and What If I’m Wrong?. She teaches at Andrews University and founded the ministry Cross Communication.
What is Heather Thompson Day’s denomination?
Day describes herself as an interdenominational speaker rather than aligning with one church body. She teaches at Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, and her academic and family roots are Adventist, but her writing and speaking reach Christians across denominational lines.
Is Heather Thompson Day still married?
Yes. She’s married to Seth Day, a pastor and educator, and the two have co-authored a book together. They’ve been married for roughly twelve years and have three children.
How old is Heather Thompson Day?
Her exact birth date isn’t publicly documented in any verifiable source. She grew up in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and has taught communication for close to 15 years before transitioning into ministry leadership full time.
What books has Heather Thompson Day written?
She’s written nine books, including It’s Not Your Turn, I’ll See You Tomorrow, What If I’m Wrong?, and the children’s book Can I Sit Here?, co-written with her daughter London.
Did Heather Thompson Day go to Andrews University?
Yes. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Andrews University, and currently teaches there.
What is Cross Communication?
Cross Communication is the ministry and speaking development organization Day founded, operating under the nonprofit It Is Day Ministries. It trains churches, leaders, and everyday Christians in gospel-centered communication, with an emphasis on interracial, interdenominational, and intergenerational ministry.
Article Note on Search Ambiguity
If you came here looking for “Heather Day” the abstract painter, or “Heather Thomson” from a reality TV show, this isn’t that person. There’s no documented connection between Day and either of those public figures, and conflating them would misrepresent all three. This article covers only the communication professor and Christian author connected to Andrews University and Seth Day.
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