Family Bibles go from the coffee table to the dining room

A family Bible used to be an oversized, thick version of God's Word handed down with each successive generation recording information about the family's history in it. But new family Bibles are no longer just basic text editions recording births, deaths, baptisms, confirmations and marriages—and often collecting dust on bookshelves. 

 The subcategory now offers a variety of features—including color illustrations, drawings and art, children's stories and pictures as well as expanded notes and records sections—all designed to encourage family members to read the Scriptures together.  

"We believe the family Bible market is trending toward family engagement—not coffee—table fixtures," Zondervan Senior Vice President and Publisher for Bibles Chip Brown told Christian Retailing.

 One of several publishers that offer 40-plus different family Bibles, Zondervan has three in its line—Family Bible, Family Keepsake Bible and The Family Reading Bible—all in the New International Version (NIV) and retailing from $29.99-$49.99.

 Thomas Nelson offers two—Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade's Lighting the Way Home Family Bible, NKJV and Family Bible: KJV Edition, published as a commemorative edition marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV).

More than 2,000 units were shipped on its release in October, and more than 1,000 units were ordered and shipped in December and January, "indicating a strong consumer response to the premium keepsake quality of this heirloom Bible for gift-giving," said Gary Davidson, senior vice president and group publisher of Thomas Nelson's Bible group.

Family Bibles account for less than 1% of every Bible purchased in Christian retail outlets, according to sales data from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). Zondervan's Family Bible, Duo-Tone burgundy was the best-selling family Bible during the past two years.

According to ECPA sales data for 2010, Nelson had the highest market share of the subcategory (36%), followed by Zondervan (24%), Oxford University Press (17%), B&H Publishing Group (10%) and Fireside Catholic Bibles (3%).

Nelson has published approximately 100 different family Bibles since 1970, including King James and New King James editions, as well as Catholic and Spanish editions—with total sales exceeding
1 million units.

SALES UPSWING

Karmen Kelly, buyer and owner of The Bible House in Searcy, Ark., told Christian Retailing that she had to backorder Nelson's Family Bible—which retails for $99.99—at Christmastime. 

"I ran out of stock twice, even though it's an expensive Bible," Kelly said. "We are continuing to sell it well this year. It's quality. When you compare it to other Bibles on the shelf, it's hard to turn that one down."

In business for more than 37 years and located 45 minutes from Little Rock, Ark., the 4,000-square-foot Bible House—which carries hundreds of SKUs in Bibles—has seen a surge in family editions.

"We've had an upswing of families looking for them," Kelly said. "We carried maybe two to three family Bibles three years ago, but now we carry at least 10 different styles from five to six publishers. We've had a return for people looking for traditional Bibles with record-keeping pages in the front. They're willing to pay more for family Bibles." 

Besides Zondervan's The Family Reading Bible and Nelson's Family Bible, the Bible House carries the KJV Cornerstone Family Bible and Holman Family Bible Deluxe Edition (both Holman Bible Publishers/B&H Publishing Group), as well as Spanish and Catholic family Bibles. 

"We try to meet the needs of everyone in the market, especially because the category has definitely picked up," Kelly said. "I think people are searching for a return to roots, family bonds and traditional values. The family Bible is something that is associated with that. It's like tracing your heritage."

FAMILY FOCUS

"Traditionally, family Bibles are purchased as keepsakes or family heirlooms," Davidson said. "The success of our Precious Moments family Bible and the Thomas Kinkade family Bible testifies to the enduring value of family Bibles. ... Both of these Bibles were published in numerous editions that served a full range of customer and markets."

 Davidson said that family Bibles are "not a primary focus" for Nelson's Bible division, but added what is important is "getting families together to read the Bible and encouraging them to put God's Word into action together. ...

"Although at present we don't offer a wide selection of the traditional, larger-sized family Bibles, I would still say that we're focused on family in our Bibles," he said.

Brown said that Zondervan's Family Bible—first published in 1985—and Family Keepsake Bible fit the classic category of family Bibles. Both are large-format Bibles that include extensive family record sections with pages to record births, deaths, marriages and other family events. 

Sales for The Family Reading Bible have been strong. "We believe family Bibles fit into two very different categories," Brown said. "The first is the classic, coffee-table Bible category. This category has not experienced much growth in recent years. The second category is the family devotional category. 

"This is a growth area in the Christian market. Current Christian market trends indicate a clear shift toward emphasizing the importance of parents as spiritual leaders in the home." 

FIELD-TESTED

Zondervan's The Family Reading Bible was field-tested with 43 families to ensure that the reading plans fit the needs of families with children at various ages and stages of spiritual development. 

"The Family Reading Bible was based directly on primary research with Christian parents," Brown said. "We found that many Christian parents wanted to have family devotions, and thought they should be reading the Bible with their children, but were often unsure how to accomplish this."

The Catholic Family Connections Bible, with the New American Bible translation, was published in March 2010 by Saint Mary's Press as its first family Bible.

"We launched this Bible in response to customer requests to offer a family version of our best-selling Catholic Youth Bible, with nearly 2 million copies in print," said company President and CEO John Vitek. 

"Parents want to feel connected, and they want their children to feel connected to family,  their faith, their community," he said. "So, we looked to build the Bible around these essential connection points, to provide a Bible that is practical and helpful in everyday life. … 

"Catholic parents are looking for a Bible that gives them simple, easy-to-use, engaging material to help build a family practice of reading, studying and living out the teachings of the Bible and their Catholic faith."

Elsewhere, Tyndale House Publishers does not offer a family Bible with its New Living Translation, but that could change. "Tyndale is open to developing family Bibles, and may do so in the future," Jeffrey Smith, director of marketing, Bibles, for Tyndale, said. 

To read an extended print edition of this article, go to familyBibles.christianretailing.com.

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