"We want to provide a place for our readers to connect on a deeper level with the stories and authors they enjoy," said Barb Sherrill, vice president of marketing for Harvest House. "Our hope is that this will truly grow into a community where readers and authors can come together to share their love for Amish fiction. We also want to offer a format where readers can find answers to their questions and offer feedback about what they'd like to see on the site in the future."

Unlike previous years, Outreach did not award one overall Outreach Resource of the Year because of the variety of the nominated resources and the subjects they covered.

Many stores report category ‘steady or up,’ despite challenges

Despite the challenges associated with carrying gifts, Christian retailers say the area has been a bright spot for them in recent times and contributes to the continued vitality of their stores.

Christian Retailing’s Vital Signs study of this important category found two-thirds of stores reporting that their gift inventories were “steady or up” in the last couple of years, with the average number of SKUs held in inventory at around 750.

Gifts sales as a share of total revenues have remained steady or increased in 65% of stores. One in five retailers said gifts accounted for more than 40% of total sales, with many of this group also dedicating the largest amount of space set for the category.

Consumers who took part in the survey said they purchased an average of 14 gifts annually for others and an average of 10 items each year for themselves.

Retailers and consumers differed on the need for specific Bible content on gift items. Just under half (45%) of retailers said the presence of specific scripture references on products was “extremely important” when they selected inventory, and they estimated that 66% of their stock was “scriptural” in this way.

However, only 30% of participating shoppers said they preferred gifts with specific Bible verses, looking instead for items that were more generally “inspirational.”

Read the full Vital Signs survey report exclusively online at www.christianretailing.com.

Economic slump may have ‘good news’ benefits, say retailers

Although consumers continue to pull back on discretionary spending in a troubled economy, more people are looking for spiritual help in hard times.

That’s the hope of many Christian publishers and retailers, who told Christian Retailing that Bibles and books offering biblical financial and other help have seen a spike in sales in light of the harshest economic crisis since the Great Depression. They say the resurgence in spiritual matters has been similar to the renewed interest in God after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Phil Biddle—who recently sold his Vine and Branches Christian Bookstore in Lodi, Calif.—said Bible sales were “extremely strong” at Christmastime, increasing at least 7% from the previous year.

“The times are … tough enough that people are starting to pay attention and want the comfort of God’s Word,” he said.

Gabrielle Pyles, manager of Christ Centered Book & Music in Fort Myers, Fla., added: “In the financial times that we are in, people do not know where else to turn but their Creator. Sometimes these times are the only wake-up call that people will listen to in order to truly find out where their source of strength comes from.”

Pyles said top sellers for her store included Financial Armageddon by John Hagee (FrontLine/Strang Book Group), The Shack (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group USA) and the Fireproof DVD, as well as materials related to the movie.

Matt Baugher, vice president and publisher of Thomas Nelson’s Practical Living & Spiritual Growth publishing unit, said the empty and helpless feeling caused by the economic downturn was driving “people both consciously and subconsciously to messages of hope and assurance.”

“General titles on spiritual growth and theology might be a bit down in sales, but titles which concentrate on practical and spiritual assistance in troubled times are rising to the top,” he said. “Our biggest seller in this regard would be What in the World Is Going On? by David Jeremiah. We view it as nothing less than providential that this book released when it did last October.

“People are a little worried right now, and they want to know what the Bible has to say about tough times and what these indicators might mean from an eternal perspective,” Baugher added.

He noted that financial expert Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover continued to sell “extremely well” in both mainstream and Christian stores.

John Johnson, national sales director for Tyndale House Publishers, said Surviving Financial Meltdown by Ron Blue and Jeremy White was generating lots of interest. Co-published with Focus on the Family, the book was part of CBA’s Campaign Financial Aid initiative, which seeks to provide consumers with biblical financial help through their local Christian bookstore.

Bill and Tina Beyer, owners of the trend-setting Skia store in Bentonville, Ark., made a special purchase of several financial books and workbooks.“We are passing the lower costs on to our customers and sales have been robust,” Bill Beyer said.

Backing up the positive outlook of publishers and retailers, sales of religious books increased 3.5% in December, according to the Association of American Publishers.Sales of religious books previously decreased 9%, 25.6%, 11.8% and 10.8% for the months of November, October, September and August, respectively.

Suppliers meet increasing appetite for bite-sized Bibles and spiritual sips

Publishers are stepping up efforts to reach modern consumers with the “still, small voice” of God in the midst of increasingly busy lives.

Bite-size Scripture verses, devotionals and books for mobile devices like MP3 players and cell phones are helping to provide spiritual refreshment for time-pressed Americans—a trend recently spotlighted in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

“Pastors have reported that the number one reason people don’t read the Bible is they don’t have time,” said Jon Wilke, spokesman for Faith Comes By Hearing, a ministry that provides free audio MP3 messages to cell phones.

On the retail front, the GoBible, a portable, self-contained MP3 audio Bible, saw sales growth of 70% in 2008, totaling 50,000 units, in its second full year of release. Andrew Block, president of GoBible, said the convenience of the device was the key to its success.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there who haven’t yet taken the plunge to hand-held technology, and what we offer is a very convenient, easy-to-use product that has the entire Bible laid out,” he said. “We’re exposing a whole group of people to the latest technology without them being intimidated by the technological know-how.”

The recent successes of dramatic audio Bibles in MP3 format from Thomas Nelson (The Word of Promise New Testament, The Word of Promise: Next Generation New Testament) and Zondervan (Inspired By… The Bible Experience) have also tapped into the market of busy readers. Zondervan also launched its Symtio downloadable audiobook program in retail stores last year.

“Today, the format that wraps the Word of God is irrelevant,” said Jeremy Johnson, vice president and associate publisher for Thomas Nelson’s Bible Group. “What’s important ... is connecting the Word of God to His people.”

New technology has increased the options for publishers who have already been trying to cater to the needs of busy people. In recent years, the need for speed has seen publishers roll out smaller-sized and portioned-printed books and Bibles, such as Tyndale House Publishers’ One Year devotionals, the “One Minute Bible” series from B&H Publishing Group and smaller compact-sized Bibles from publishers like Zondervan and Thomas Nelson.

“Publishing the Bible in various formats—both print and electronic—to meet people where they are allows us to continue our mission as Bible publishers in getting the Word of God into the hands of more people around the world,” Johnson said.

Thomas Nelson is one among several now offering free use of its translations—New King James Version (NKJV) and New Century Version (NCV)—on mobile devices in a partnership with LifeChurch.tv.

Tyndale House has contracted with MPS Mobile, a mobile content provider, to deliver devotions from its popular One Year series with New Living Translation (NLT) Scriptures. The publisher already offers its NLT as an eBook in the MS Reader and Mobipocket formats compatible with devices like the Amazon Kindle and Palm PDA. A version for the Sony Reader is in process.

Crossway Books & Bibles has been using the Twitter Internet site and social networking tool to provide a verse a day from its popular English Standard Version to more than 2,000 “followers.”

Due out March 17, the 20-song collection includes "Three Wooden Crosses," "Four Walls," "Angel" and "Just a Closer Walk With Thee"-a duet with John Anderson.

Nancy Wentz--author of Cursebreaker (Whitaker House), a supernatural thriller--is to be featured Thursday, March 12, in a blog tour at FIRST Wild Card Tours.