Crossway’s first floor destroyed by flood waters, Tyndale House forced to close due to water-logged parking lot

Christian publishers have been impacted by spring flooding in the Midwest, causing temporary closures and extensive damage. 

Mid-April downpours brought on sudden flooding throughout the Midwest, and high water was blamed for at least three deaths in the region, the Associated Press reported. 

About 2 feet of water poured into Crossway’s 32 first-floor offices in Wheaton, Ill., and repairs and rebuilding will take five to six months, company officials said.

The substantial flooding forced closures April 17-18. The company appealed for financial support in the wake of the company suffering extensive damage. The publisher also asked donors to help raise $360,000 by the end of its fiscal year, May 31, for “priority projects.”

In an email to supporters, Lane Dennis, president and CEO of Crossway, wrote: “As a not-for-profit ministry, Crossway is not only committed to publishing the ESV [English Standard Version] Bible and gospel-centered content, but also to providing God’s Word to hundreds of thousands of people overseas, either free or at a substantially reduced cost. Because of the recent flood, however, some of these international ministry efforts are now at risk.”

He added that the financial assistance will pay for three areas: damage not covered by insurance; installation of new safeguards to flood-proof Crossway’s building; and “crucial Bible ministry projects.” 

“Your support will make it possible especially for us to continue moving forward with the following priority projects: translation costs for the ESV Chinese Study Bible, to be published in mainland China; printing costs for 60,000 copies of the Chinese-English ESV bilingual Bible, also for publication and distribution in mainland China; completion and global distribution of the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible this fall; development of the Knowing the Bible studies, to be offered free digitally worldwide,” Dennis said.

“Though we don’t know exactly how the Lord will use these events for His kingdom and for His glory, we are confident in His grace and mercy and in His gracious provision for the work He has called us to do—trusting His words in Isaiah 43:2: ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.’ ” 

Crossway Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing Geoff Dennis told Christian Retailing that the company, providentially, moved its warehouse to another location in late 2012—ahead of the publisher’s 75th anniversary this year.

“We were able to minimize negative impact on our shipping and fulfillment,” Dennis said. “We lost only about a day in fulfilling orders and have since gotten caught up. Our office building was closed for two days, with people working mainly from their homes.”

Tyndale House Publishers, located in Carol Stream, Ill., was also closed April 18 due to flooding in the parking lot, which rendered the building inaccessible. 

“Many employees have had to deal with flooded basements,” Tyndale House Chief Operating Officer Jeff Johnson said. “Tyndale did not suffer any damages to its facilities or inventory. Even if we had not closed, many of our employees would not have been able to make it to work due to streets and roads being impassable, basements flooding and taking care of children whose schools had been closed. However, many employees worked from home, so it was not a complete loss.”

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