Christian Retailing is looking for Vacation Bible School (VBS) 2014 program information to help retailers prepare for the next VBS season.

Curriculum suppliers, we invite you to submit your program details by filling out a simple VBS form online.

Visit www.christianretailing.com/vbs to submit by Monday, Sept. 9.

The VBS Guide with full program details will be part of our November 2013 issue and also will be posted online.

For more information, email VBS Guide writer Leslie Santamaria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This year marks the 30th anniversary JCountryman’s “God’s Promises” brand. Having sold 18 million books since its original publication, God's Promises still tops best-seller charts.

Jack Countryman wrote God’s Promises at his kitchen table with the help of his wife, Marsha, three decades ago. Originally distributed from the trunk of their car, the demand for God’s Promises and its follow-up book, God’s Wisdom, quickly grew. In 1986, Jack trademarked the JCountryman brand, further extending the presence of the gift book line.

Vision Video's "Torchlighters, Heroes of the Faith" DVD series has reached more than 250,000 units sold.

For youth ages 8-12, the animated series, which tells the stories of true-life heroes from Christian history, began in 2006 with The Story of Jim Elliott.

"Now, more than seven years later, we have released 11 episodes (with more coming), and have shipped over a-quarter-of-a-million 'Torchlighters' DVDs worldwide," Vision Video officials said.

Some readers congratulated the company on Facebook, including Felicia Buchanan, who said, "Excellent series all kids need to see!"

Set for release in November, the next Torchlighters DVD is about Corrie ten Boom, who traveled the world until her death in 1983 speaking about how she and her family took great risks in hiding the Jews during World War II.

To celebrate the sales milestone, Vision Video is offering all 11 DVDs for $82.49, discounted from $109.99, through Aug. 30.

Most of the Torchlighters titles have won children's video awards, including The Jim Elliot Story, The William Tyndale Story, The Eric Liddell Story, The Gladys Aylward Story and The Perpetua Story.

For more information, visit https://www.visionvideo.com/.

Consumer confidence moved closer to a five-and-a-half-year high this month due to growing optimism that hiring and wages could pick up in coming months, according to the Conference Board.

The private research group said its index of consumer confidence rose to 81.5 in August—just below the 82.1 reading in June, which was the highest since January 2008.

"Consumer confidence increased slightly in August, a result of improving short-term expectations," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators and surveys of the New York City-based Conference Board. "Consumers were moderately more upbeat about business, job and earning prospects. In fact, income expectations, which had declined sharply earlier this year with the payroll tax hike, have rebounded to their highest level in two-and-a-half years."

Although consumers were more confident about the future, their assessment of the current economy dipped slightly in August.

"Consumer sentiment is holding steady, supported by advances in stocks, solid job creation and a broad-based recovery in the housing market," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, Associated Press (AP) reported.

Consumers' confidence in the economy is monitored closely because their spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity. After hitting bottom at 25.3 during the Great Recession in February 2009, the index has bounced back, but it has yet to reach a 90 reading, which signals a healthy economy.

The economy has created an average of 192,000 jobs a month this year, slightly ahead of last year's pace, while the unemployment rate fell last month to a four-and-a-half-year low of 7.4%, AP reported.

Consumer confidence moved closer to a five-and-a-half-year high this month due to growing optimism that hiring and wages could pick up in coming months, according to the Conference Board.

The private research group said its index of consumer confidence rose to 81.5 in August—just below the 82.1 reading in June, which was the highest since January 2008.

Global information and measurement company Nielsen has signed an agreement to acquire R.R. Bowker's Business Intelligence and Commerce Solutions products. The acquisition includes Pubtrack Christian data, which is used by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

The acquisition will build on Nielsen's existing global book intelligence by adding enhanced offerings in transaction services, sales measurement and analysis, Bowker officials said.

"We are committed to elevating the global book industry's understanding of print and digital book measurement and discovery within an evolving media landscape," said Jonathan Nowell, president of Nielsen Book. "Bowker has developed first-rate book analytic solutions, which offer a great complement to Nielsen's existing solutions for the book industry. We are excited to welcome Bowker's team to Nielsen, and we will work together to provide our clients with the measurement, tools, insights and linked commerce solutions needed to exceed their current and future expectations."

Kurt Sanford, CEO of ProQuest, an affiliate of Bowker, added: "By bringing together Nielsen and Bowker analytic services, book publishers will receive the critical data they require to navigate the transition to digital-first publishing, through one tool set from one source, significantly simplifying the collection of business intelligence."

Besides Pubtrack Christian, Bowker products that will be available as part of the Nielsen Book portfolio include PubTrack Digital, PubTrack Higher-Ed, Bowker Market Research Books & Consumers, Global Ebook Monitor, PubEasy and Pubnet. The Nielsen Book portfolio currently includes BookData, BookNet, Registration Agencies and BookScan.

Faith-based publishers reported a 7.9% increase during the first four months of 2013 in religious e-book sales compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures available from the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

From January-April this year, religious hardcover sales were down nearly 3.6%, with sales of $93 million. In contrast, religious paperback sales experienced an 8% increase during the same date range versus January-April 2012, with sales of $54.2 million.

Overall, book sales from religious publishers for the January-April period compared to the same time frame last year saw a nearly 2% increase to nearly $193.2 million.

With nearly 1,200 publishers reporting, AAP's Monthly StatShot report includes data from Crossway, Gospel Light, Moody Publishers, David C Cook, Thomas Nelson and Tyndale House Publishers, among others represented by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.