In another sign of a changing Christian retail industry, Covenant Group has announced the expansion of its membership with the addition of the 18-outlet chain Berean Christian Stores.

Berean's membership, effective immediately, increases Covenant Group's stores by approximately 50%.

"We are delighted to welcome Berean Christian Stores back," said Covenant Group founder and President Chuck Wallington. "We have a long history of working with Berean on their marketing needs to both consumers and churches. In addition, our long-term relationship with [Chief Operation Officer] Bill Nielsen has always been one of great respect and admiration as friendly competitors in the marketplace.

"To have Bill and his team as part of the expanding Covenant Group family is both a privilege and exciting," added Wallington, owner of Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C. "We look forward to producing even more effective promotions and programs for all of our member stores, vendor partners and the literally millions of customers we serve."

Covenant Group provides marketing and support services to stores with a standard program for retailers with annual income of more than $1 million, and an affiliate program for stores under $1 million in annual sales. Its comprehensive and coordinated marketing approach was one of the reasons Berean, a Cincinnati-based chain, chose to join Covenant Group, officials said.

"I have admired the work and leadership of Chuck Wallington for many years and am pleased to now join him in this new and exciting way," Nielsen said. "Our stores are eager to fully support the Covenant Group and their effective marketing campaigns. I am convinced that Covenant strategies will drive significantly more traffic into Berean Christian Stores making our in-store merchandising and customer service programs more appealing than ever."

As the country's second largest independent Christian chain, Covenant Group's combined purchasing power and promotional reach increases substantially for its member retailers. Berean will begin participating in all purchasing efforts in August, initiating the mailing of promotional catalogs in September and utilizing the comprehensive church supply catalog from Covenant this fall, officials said.

Deanna Gimelli and her husband, Joseph, bought Berean for almost $2 million in August 2009. The former owners of a California winery, the Gimellis bought t Berean—which dates back to 1934—after it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2009.

Bought by a private equity firm from Standex International in 2006, Berean grew to 26 stores, but cut the number by a third as it hit cash flow problems in 2008.

Victoria Hearst, an independent Christian retailer and granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, has teamed up with a Christian model who is campaigning to require Cosmopolitan magazine to be sold exclusively to adults.

Hearst's grandfather was the newspaper publisher who gave his name to the Hearst Corporation, which now includes major broadcast and print interests such as Cosmopolitan. The magazine has recently come under fire from conservative groups for pushing the limits on its explicit content, and including underage actress Dakota Fanning and Disney star Selena Gomez on the publication's covers earlier this year.

Hearst operates Praise Productions Christian Store in Ridgway, Colo.—the location for the famous John Wayne movie True Grit, and with a population around 1,000. To help protect the development of teen girls, Hearst has joined forces with model Nicole Weider, who founded ProjectInspired.com, which seeks "to take the best interests of young women to heart."

"About 11 years ago, I contacted Frank Bennack and the board of the Hearst Corporation, and told them that what they are publishing in Cosmopolitan magazine was pornographic," Hearst said. "I had the support of two female psychologists and counselors who attest that this content hurts young girls. Like Nicole, I also asked that the magazine be sold only to adults 18 and older.

Although Hearst said she never received a reply, she "had peace because I delivered the message," she added. "When I heard about Nicole's campaign, I knew I needed to join in her mission to put Cosmopolitan in a bag and make sure that its pornographic content cannot be sold to minors!"

Hearst's "advice and wisdom has been much an encouragement," Weider said. "Parents, teachers and church leaders need to know just how damaging the content of Cosmopolitan magazine is to the development of young girls," she said.

Weider's Change.org campaign demands that Cosmopolitan be sold in a non-transparent wrapper to adults only to prevent children from buying and reading material inappropriate for their stage in life.

Click here to view the petition, which currently has more than 33,000 signatures. 

Two inspirational titles were among the winners of the 17th annual Audie Awards, announced this week by the Audio Publishers Association (APA).

Courageous by Randy Alcorn, Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick (Tyndale House Publishers) and narrated by Roger Mueller (Oasis Audio) won the Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction category, while the Inspirational/Faith-Based Non-Fiction prize went to The Story, New International Version, narrated by Michael Blain-Rozgay, Allison Moffett and a full cast (print and audio from Zondervan).

The two titles were among those honored during The Audies, held June 5 at the New-York Historical Society in New York City. Marking excellence in 30 categories of audio presentation publishing, The Audies attracted more than 1,250 entries, breaking last year's record, APA said.

Click here for a complete list of winners.

New York Times best-selling author Wanda E. Brunstetter's The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club (Barbour Publishing) is being turned into a musical.

Half Stitched: The Musical—about a group of unlikely quilters who enroll in Amish widow Emma Yoder's quilting classes—will premier Aug. 24 and run through Dec. 8 at the Blue Gate Theatre in Shipshewana, Ind.

"The musical will debut in the book's setting, Shipshewana, which is deep in the heart of Amish country," Brunsetetter said.

Billed as "six loose threads and an Amish widow," the play offers a unique, often humorous, look at life's challenges. "The characters include a troubled young woman, a couple struggling with their marriage, a distraught widower, a rough and tough biker and a preacher's wife," Brunstetter said.

Barbour Publishing is hosting a contest that will send the winner on a weekend getaway for two to the premiere. The prize also includes accommodations, lunch with Brunstetter and dinner. For more information and to enter the contest, click here. 

Meanwhile, the musical based on popular fiction writer Beverly Lewis' The Confession (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) has opened in three locations, all of them in Amish communities. The Confession Musical runs through Aug. 18 at the Blue Gate Theatre, the same theatre company running Brunstetter's play, through Nov. 30 at the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant and Stage in Bird-in-Hand, Pa., and through Dec. 15 at the Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

"It's a joy to see my spunky Katie Lapp from The Shunning [Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group] brought to life in this way, and the stage adaptation is perfect for all ages," Lewis said. "And, wow, is the music ever fabulous! 'Broadway worthy,' according to Gloria Gaither, who has seen it twice already."

Click here for more information. 

Following a performance in Mitchellville, Md., Christian rock group Sanctus Real escaped tragedy Sunday morning, June 3, when the band's tour bus caught fire, destroying everything on board and charring the vehicle.

According to a statement from the band, the bus was riding along the Pennsylvania Turnpike around 4 a.m. Sunday when the driver saw flames in the side view mirror. The were no injuries to the nine passengers—the band and some family members, including four children—who quickly evacuated the vehicle.

The hasty exit in the middle of the night meant there was scant time to collect belongings before the bus burst into flames. "As a result, everything was destroyed in the fire, from clothing to laptops, cell phones and wallets," the band said.

Fortunately, a trailer carrying the band's equipment does not appear to have been damaged, and the five-member group will continue to perform scheduled shows.

Sanctus Real's current lineup features guitarist Chris Rohman, singer-guitarist Matt Hammitt and drummer Mark Graalman, all of the Toledo, Ohio, area, and bassist Dan Gartley and guitarist Pete Prevost, both of Nashville.

Stephanie Heisinger, who has been driving for Sanctus Real for more than two years, said the only warning was when the headlights dimmed and the gauges reset, after which she looked in the mirror and saw the flames. "We're very thankful for God's protection because it could have been much worse," she told the Toledo Blade.

Sanctus Real has scored four Top 10s on the Billboard's Christian Songs chart, reaching No. 76 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with 2010's Pieces of a Real Heart (Sparrow Records/EMI CMG Distribution).

Fans looking to help the band with a donation can click here. 

With Father's Day around the corner, Gregory Slayton's Be a Better Dad Today! (Regal Books) has reached No. 1 on the Top 20 General list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). The list from ECPA tracks sales for the week ending May 26, according to Pubtrack Christian data.

The remainder of the Top 20 General best-sellers are: 2. Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, hardcover (Thomas Nelson); 3. Jesus Calling, Young, large print deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 4. Kingdom Man, Tony Evans (Tyndale House Publishers); 5. Jesus Calling, Young, deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 6. The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine/Charisma House Book Group); 7. Heaven Is for Real, Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson); 8. The Necessity of an Enemy, Ron Carpenter (WaterBrook Press); 9. Crazy Love, Francis Chan (David C Cook); 10. One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp (Zondervan); 11. The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson (Zondervan); 12. Not a Fan, Kyle Idleman (Zondervan); 13. Spirit Rising, Jim Cymbala (Zondervan); 14. The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Northfield Publishing); 15. Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids, Young, hardcover (Thomas Nelson); 16. Nearing Home, Billy Graham (Thomas Nelson); 17. The Resolution for Men, Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick, Randy Alcorn (B&H Books); 18. Not a Fan: Teen Edition, Kyle Idleman (Zondervan); 19. Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby (B&H Books); and 20. Battlefield of the Mind, Joyce Meyer (FaithWords).

The Top 10 Fiction best-sellers are: 1. The Harbinger; 2. Loving, "Bailey Flanigan Series," No. 4, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan); 3. The Fiddler, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 4. Illusion, Frank Peretti (Howard Books); 5. The Betrayal, "Precinct 11 Series," No. 2, Jerry B. Jenkins (Tyndale); 6. Downfall, "Intervention," No. 3, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan); 7. The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing); 8. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books); 9. The First Gardener, Denise Hildreth Jones (Tyndale); and 10. Touching the Sky, "Land of the Lone Star," No. 2, Tracie Peterson (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group).

The top five Bibles are: 1. NLT Life Recovery Bible, Personal Size, hardcover, New Living Translation (Tyndale); 2. ESV Thinline Value Edition Bible, TruTone, midnight, flame design, English Standard Version (Crossway); 3. NIV Thinline Bible, navy bonded leather, New International Version (Zondervan); 4. NIV Thinline Bible, Compact, Duo-Tone, slate/concrete (Zondervan); and 5. The Story, hardcover, New International Version (Zondervan).

The Second Annual Champions of the Faith Awards and Benefit Concert will be presented by The Premier Foundation in partnership with CBA on Saturday, July 14—prior to the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Orlando, Fla., at the Orange County Convention Center.

To be held 7-10 p.m. in the Chapin Theater, the awards in seven categories will honor businesses, organizations, entertainers and other individuals who are champions of the Christian faith by living their lives dedicated to the principles Jesus taught.

Those being recognized include Pat Williams, author and founder of the Orlando Magic (Sports); EMI Christian Music Group (Music); Campus Crusade for Christ (Charity); Lysa TerKeurst, founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries (Author); Ed Kobel, president of the DeBartolo Group (Business); Thomas Nelson (Christian Product Supplier); and For All Bible Center Joplin, Mo., (Christian Store Retailer).

Along with speaker, author and Back2Back ministry founder Beth Guckenberger and a musical performance by Karyn Williams of Inpop Records, the evening will also feature artist Jared Emerson, who has painted portaits of celebrities such as NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Each Champions of the Faith winner will be presented with a unique piece of artwork created by Emerson, who will create an original painting on stage that he will donate to be sold at the fundraiser. There will be a live and silent auction during the event—a fundraiser for the Premier Foundation, which supports The James Fund, World Vision and other nonprofit ministries and charities.

The event is open to the public. Cost: $25 advance purchase for the general public, $20 for Campus Crusade for Christ members and $15 for ICRS attendees. Click here for more information.