Jim Powell to leave international group he helped establish

A major change in leadership in the global Christian products market will take place at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) this month, when Jim Powell steps down as president of Christian Trade Association International (CTAI).

Taking the helm of the group linking suppliers and retailers around the world is Kim Pettit, currently chief operating officer, who has been with the organization since 2009.

The former international director for CBA who was a driving force in establishing CTAI when the U.S.-based retailers association shed its overseas chapters in 2005, Powell plans to serve as a mission-station guest house manager in New Guinea with his wife, Peggy.

“It’s time,” he said of his departure. “I am 67 and sense a strong desire to serve the kingdom in a new way.” In addition, Pettit was well-positioned with “new initiatives and energy” to help CTAI develop and support the growing international market for Christian resources, Powell told Christian Retailing.

Having previously served as president of the International Bible Society, Powell joined CBA as international director in 1994. With the founding of CTAI, he hosted an annual international celebration lunch and the International Marketsquare section at the exhibit floor of CBA’s summer show, providing a meeting point for those doing international business. 

In 2008, CTAI debuted Marketsquare International, an annual January show providing a one-stop North American buying opportunity for overseas visitors in the absence of CBA’s canceled winter show.

CTAI currently has 18 member nations and produces an international business directory that lists hundreds of suppliers and retailers in around 50 countries.

“I’m excited about the challenge in the sense that I have a real passion for seeing God’s Word touch lives,” said Pettit, 47, who was editor of David C. Cook’s Interlit magazine for Christian publishers for 10 years before joining CTAI. “I know that, for me, books were very significant in my life; they were how I was discipled in lots of ways.”

Having lived and traveled overseas while growing up with a banker father, Pettit said that the addition of some 1,500 bookstores in Brazil to the much-expanded next CTAI directory reflected the continued growth of the global market despite economic challenges.

CTAI would continue to focus on concerns of the international market, she said, such as distribution and relevant content. “So much of the focus we have here in the U.S. and the West has been on the change with e-books because of technology, but that is not so much the issue in other countries,” she said.

Pettit paid tribute to Powell’s role in establishing CTAI. “He is the person who has made it happen,” she said. “His vision and his passion is responsible for making sure that industry shows that we can learn from one another, and that together we can work and grow more effectively.”

Intending to continue to be involved with CTAI’s World Ministries nonprofit arm, Powell said that he believed that CTAI was “at the heart of what God is doing worldwide ... raising up capable, committed passionate people who are catching the vision of a world turning to Him.”

The overseas market was not one, but many, he added, with each country having unique features. There were “excellent opportunities” and most suppliers had realized that the commercial market was “the critical way to see distribution sustain and grow.” However, some Third World areas would still need free distribution for some years to come.

“Unfortunately, for the sake of the commercial markets in the Global South, many still treat them as dumping grounds for used or inappropriate product, and spoil the market for nationals and others who better understand more appropriate product,” he said.

Crowded calendar blamed for attendance shortfall; revised NIV makes its national debut

While attendance has dropped, respect has grown for the International Christian Resources Exhibition (ICRE), with first-time and established exhibitors saying they will be back.

Held at Sandown Park in Surrey, the May 10-13 event had 400 exhibitors, but drew just over 10,000 visitors—short of the organizers’ 13,000 target.

They believed the current economic downturn is a contributing factor. “We have to be aware of the change in the church and change in finances,” said Steve Briars, event and program director. “We probably have to think a little bit outside the box.”

People were waiting longer to book for these show, which had also been hindered by a late Easter, and several public holidays in rapid succession, Briars told Christian Retailing. “There’s no other place where you can meet such a wide and diverse cross-section of church decision-makers,” he said.

 That was echoed by some exhibitors. “People come here with a certain mission,” said Lucy Mhondera, marketing manager of Kingsway, an event sponsor. “We’ve had some great conversations with people. People are just looking for great resources for their church.” She noted a general consensus that visitors felt this year’s event was “a little bit quieter.”

ICRE’s Word & Worship sessions—where popular worship leaders teamed up with best-selling authors—meant Kingsway saw fresh interest in existing resources such as Roy Godwin’s story of spiritual renewal, The Grace Outpouring, published in 2008.

Steve and Bekah Legg launched women’s magazine Liberti, gaining 100 subscribers as a result. Editor of the men’s magazine Sorted, Steve Legg described ICRE as “the ultimate place for launching” the publication. Fellow exhibitors told him that this year’s event was quieter, but his experience was different. “For us, it’s been better than last year,and we’re certainly booking in for next year—with a bigger stand,” Legg said.

Newcomer Harvest India UK was also delighted. “It’s been great to make contact with people which we wouldn’t have been able to do from our own base,” said trustee Tracey Ansell. The organization’s aim was to tell church leaders about its humanitarian and evangelistic work in India. The stand at CRE produced more than 50 contacts. “We’ve found the quality of people coming here to be very good,” Ansell added.

 Leading publisher Hodder Faith also had a positive show. The company launched the revised and updated New International Version, copies of which had arrived at its London offices the week before.

 “We’ve had a lot of interest,” Director of Publishing Ian Metcalfe said of the Bibles. Hodder also launched touch-screen, iPad-friendly Scripture software Glo Premium. “No one has seen anything like it before,” said Metcalfe. 

Hundreds flocked to hear authors like Philip Yancey and Jeff Lucas in the seminar program. Also creating a buzz at the event was More Than Gold, a campaign set up to help churches prepare for the 2012 London Olympics. The initiative’s president, Lord Brian Mahwhinney, officially opened CRE. 

Some outlets closed, backers establish first new-look operation with more due to follow

An ambitious plan to reshape the face of Christian retailing has seen mixed results. A quarter of the Living Oasis stores launched a year ago have been shuttered, but a new model for the future has been unveiled.

Nationwide Christian Trust (NCT), a registered charity, stepped in to save some of the 20-plus stores that seemed set to close last year following the sell-off of the former Wesley Owen (WO) chain—the largest in the U.K.

NCT took over 19 of the outlets through its Living Oasis initiative, looking to transform them by bringing local churches together to help provide a “Christian presence” in their commercial centers in the form of a combined bookstore, coffee shop and events center.

“But it became apparent that some of them were not going to be financially viable,” said the Rev. Andy Twilley, NCT director of Christian life and ministry. “Trying to generate interest and enthusiasm among churches (in some areas) has been quite a challenge.”

Five Living Oasis stores closed earlier this year, with the loss of around 15 to 20 jobs. In Watford, the Living Oasis outlet was relocated to the town center in a partnership with an existing Christian store that expanded its presence in line with NCT’s vision. Discussions have been taking place to relocate Living Oasis operations in Leeds and Liverpool, too, to larger, multi-story premises that would be able to offer the three elements of resources, refreshments and events.

“It has been challenging,” Twilley said of the past year. “For all of the shops, we gave it our best shot. Unfortunately, in some of those areas, it has just not proved to be possible.”

Meanwhile, there have been changes, too, at STL Distribution, which was sold to John Ritchie Ltd.—a subsidiary of The Lord’s Work Trust—in late 2009 by parent company IBS-STL as part of the same divestiture that saw the WO stores pass into other hands.

In March, the Carlisle-based distributor announced that it was cutting its 124-strong workforce by almost a quarter. Declining retail sales, the growth of Internet commerce and technological changes had “driven unprecedented change, challenges and opportunities within our sector,” the company said in a statement.

Two months later, the business was renamed Trust Media Distribution. The company said that following consolidation and stabilization, it was poised for growth and that “a new brand identity will underpin and add momentum to this planned expansion.” Capturing the vision’s future, the new name “conveys a sense of confidence and ongoing trust” between customers and suppliers, the announcement said. 

Word of Life Press distributes thousands of Bibles, Christian books and tracts 

A Christian publisher in Japan has provided relief supplies as well as Bibles and Christian materials to churches and people devastated by the March 11 magnitude-9 quake, which triggered a tsunami. The  death toll from the disasters left nearly 25,000 dead or missing.

Word of Life Press CEO Motoyoshi Tago told Christian Retailing that the Tokyo-based company has distributed hundreds of Bibles, nearly 3,000 New Testaments and 40,000 tracts, as well as more than 3,400 copies of Philip Yancey’s What Good is God?, Max Lucado’s You Are Special and other similar-themed books.  

Additionally, Word of Life—which also has 13 stores across Japan—fed evacuees at its Megumi Chalet Karuizawa, a Christian conference center in the mountain-village resort of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture. 

“Since they (Japanese people) are now asking for spiritual materials, please pray that God will use these materials, and they can get to know the true hope and our Savior,” Tago said. “We all feel that God is going to do His great work during this hard time.”

Two of Word of Life’s stores—in Fukushima and Sendai—saw some damage from the earthquake, as products were thrown from shelves.

“We had to close the Sendai store for two weeks, and Fukushima about for three weeks,” Tago said. “Except for the (lost) sales, we had no big damages. … Business is about 75% back to normal now. Our damaged two stores are now open to the public. For a while, these stores were used as distribution centers.”

Meanwhile, missions group CLC International—which has eight stores across the country—said that all of its locations were unharmed by the disasters.

All the CLC stores stayed open for business, CLC International Japan Director Mitsuhiko Fujio said. “After checking all the CLC stores, including the customers in the shops, we found that all were safe, and there was almost no damage to the merchandise.”

Christian Trade Association International Chief Operations Officer Kim Pettit told Christian Retailing that she contacted via email approximately 30 Japanese suppliers after the earthquake. 

“The perseverance and hope shared by publishers, suppliers and retailers in Japan is a poignant example of the kind of ministry that Christian Trade is privileged to witness throughout the world,” she said. “It is so inspiring to hear how the Holy Spirit uses our colleagues to effectively share the gospel, and bring healing and salvation in times of tragedy.” 

B&H Español’s ‘inspiring’ translation of ‘The Love Dare’ named Harold Kregel Book of the Year for the second time

 For the second consecutive year, Desafío del amor, the Spanish translation of The Love Dare by Fireproof movie-making brothers Stephen and Alex Kendrick (published in English by B&H Books in 2008), won the Harold Kregel Book of the Year award, during the Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA) Awards. 

The winners of the awards for 2010 were named May 22 in Miami at the 19th annual Expolit convention, the largest trade show in the U.S. for Spanish-language Christian products.

Published by B&H Español, Desafío del amor was also recognized as the Harold Kregel 2009 Book of the Year award for “most inspiring and impactful book.” 

“Sales of the book peaked in the U.S. around the time the movie Fireproof came out, but in Latin America the wave didn’t arrive till later,” said B&H Publishing Group Vice President of International Sales Jim Cook, noting that more than 400,000 copies of the book have been sold. B&H Español also won the Best Catalog.

Additionally, Desafío del amor received a Platinum Award for lifetime sales of at least 250,000, at Expolit. 

Zondervan’s Spanish-language division, Editorial Vida, won two of the five major SEPA awards, including Publisher of the Year and Best Original Book for En honor al Espíritu Santo (In Honor of the Holy Spirit) by Cash Luna. The book was also recognized with a Gold Award (sales of at least 100,000). 

Miami-based Luciano Books was named for Distributor of the Year. Editorial Portavoz (Kregel Publications’ Spanish imprint) won the Best-Selling Nonfiction Book for La gratitud and El perdón (Choosing Gratitude and Choosing Forgiveness—two books in one). Written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, the books were published in English by Moody Publishers. 

Editorial Portavoz was also recognized with two Gold Awards for El mártir de las catacumbas (Martyr of the Catacombs—published in English by Barbour Publishing) and Biblia de estudio MacArthur (The MacArthur Study Bible—published in English by Thomas Nelson) by John MacArthur.

Editorial Unilit garnered Platinum Awards for Buenos días Espíritu Santo (Good Morning, Holy Spirit—published in English by Thomas Nelson) by Benny Hinn and the Santa Biblia Reina Valera Revisada 1960 (Holy Bible RVR 1960 version).

Charisma Media’s Spanish group, Casa Creación was recognized with two Gold Awards for ¡El cielo es tan real! (Heaven Is So Real!—published in English by Charisma House) by Choo Thomas and Controlando sus emociones (Managing Your Emotions, published in English by FaithWords) by Joyce Meyer.

Also honored with Gold Awards were Editorial Unilit for Cuando lo que Dios hace no tiene sentido (When God Doesn’t Make Sense, published in English by Tyndale House Publishers) by James Dobson and Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (United Bible Societies) for Biblia Amigos por siempre (Friends Forever Bible).

Editorial Vida won the Best Book Cover Award for Biblia mi día con Dios (My Day With God Bible) and Best Ad for Cristiano ateo (The Christian Atheist) by Craig Groeschel—both published in English by Zondervan.

Publishing houses upbeat at Spanish product world’s annual gathering; music sales dip ‘noticeable’

In spite of the continuing global recession, attendance was up, all booth spaces were sold and publishers were upbeat at the 19th annual Expolit conference, held May 19-24 in Miami.

Though final attendance figures were not available at press time, registrations for the largest trade fair in the U.S. for the Spanish-language Christian literature and music world—which was also open to the general public—were up 13% from last year, and all 450 booth spaces were sold, according to Expolit Vice President and Director Marie Tamayo. 

Tito Mantilla, publisher of Editorial Portavoz, Kregel Publications’ Spanish imprint, and president of the Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA), said that the company had good sales, despite the challenging economy.

“From our own experience and talking to other publishers, we’re all doing fine,” he said. “Most publishers and distributors reported that sales have increased or they’ve maintained what they have. Distribution also continues to increase, and the number of books published in Spanish keeps growing.”

B&H Publishing Group Vice President of International Sales Jim Cook said that the company has seen its Spanish sales double in the last three years.

Expolit Executive Director and Editorial Unilit President David Ecklebarger said that his company’s sales have been “very good.” “There’s a renewed optimism among the distributors,” he said. “Sales are up and doing well, although we’re not back up to our peak of a few years ago.”

Steve Strang, CEO of Charisma Media, said that the company’s Spanish imprint, Casa Creación, saw 15% growth last year—the fastest-growing part of the organization. The growth prompted several promotions and the relaunch of a bimonthly print version of the Spanish-language magazine Vida Cristiana during Expolit. Vida 
Cristiana, which saw its last print issue in May 2009, recently started a partnership with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. 

 Held at the Doubletree Hotel & Miami Airport Convention Center, Expolit showcased inspirational films for the first time, with a screening of Courageous—the widely anticipated follow-up from the makers of the hit movie Fireproof—which will release in theaters nationwide Sept. 30. The movie features Roberto Amaya, who plays Javier, a Hispanic character.

B&H Publishing Group promoted Vidas Valientes, the Spanish version of Courageous Living by Michael Catt (B&H Books)—senior pastor of Courageous’ film-making brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick’s home church, Sherwood Baptist Church, in Albany, Ga. B&H also spotlighted several other Courageous-related products to be released in the fall. 

Other movies screened in Expolit’s 
ExpoCinema movie segment included Fireproof and Poema de Salvación (The Salvation Poem), a film based on the life of Argentinian rocker Pablo Olivares. 

Also new at this year’s convention was the 8th annual ARPA Awards, which recognized excellence in Spanish-language Christian music. The top winner was Jesús Adrián Romero, who won Best Masculine Album of the Year, Best Composer of the Year and Best Song of the Year with Participating Artists. Danilo Montero won Best Album of the Year and Producer of the Year.

Despite the ARPA awards, Ecklebarger said that the reduced number of music representatives at Expolit was “noticeable” as the industry continued to face challenges from illegal downloading, distribution problems and increasing costs.

Rosalia Najri, a SEPA board member who owns the Immanuel chain of Christian bookstores in the Dominican Republic, said that music sales have slumped there, forcing her to close one of the stores. “But the sales of CDs has dropped the most—75%,” she said. “We’ve decided to limit the sales of music CDs to 20 different singers.”

Mantilla said that the industry faces challenges besides the music dilemma. Book publishing is in “a process of change and transformation,” he said. “Perhaps the electronic book is the most immediate challenge in the coming years. We can see this as a problem, or we can view it as an opportunity to help the industry reach its full potential. Only those organizations that desire to seize these opportunities will be successful in making an impact on the industry in the future.”