“LifeWay is the largest provider of Christian content in the world,” Craig Featherstone says. “Yet the majority of everything we produce stays in the United States.”

That’s something Featherstone is working to change as director of LifeWay Global Resources. With the church’s growth in places like India, China and Brazil, Featherstone believes evangelicals worldwide could benefit from resources that LifeWay can provide.

LifeWay has had an overseas presence for decades, but that work has increased in recent years. Currently LifeWay resources are available in 76 countries and more than 40 languages.

That will jump to 155 countries in the next few months through expanded digital content, with churches and customers able to buy LifeWay resources at a local price, using local currency.

In India via digital format, customers will be able to buy any product of B&H Publishers, LifeWay’s trade books division, from online retailer Flipkart.com. Churches in South Africa, meanwhile, can utilize Amazon to order products.

Other growth will take place the old-fashioned way—by building close ties to local churches and Christian leaders.

In China, for example, LifeWay works with a Christian company called ZDL to distribute Christian resources. Some of the content has been translated from English and some was originally written in Chinese.

LifeWay also has started a new company to work in China known as Zhen Dao—“the true way”—to distribute materials such as a book on marriage that a Chinese pastor could write.

Finding a sustainable ministry and financial model remains is one of the key challenges in working globally.

People, no matter where they live, need biblical solutions, said Brad Waggoner, executive vice president of the parent company LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. The key is making sure those resources fit the local context and the local churches’ needs and that they are sustainable.

Still, Waggoner said, LifeWay is committed to finding models that work.

Globalization and the digital revolution make it easier for LifeWay to carry out its mission. It’s an opportunity to live out the Great Commission, he said.

“You can’t say you’re a good steward of the opportunity—and only be concerned about North America,” Waggoner said. “Working overseas to strengthen churches is part of LifeWay’s mission.”

Developing close ties with local churches and in-country distributers is one way to build a sustainable model. LifeWay staff members have led training events for overseas distributors on how to develop ties with pastors and church leaders, and they’ve gone to pastors’ conferences overseas to help put those lessons into practice.

And there are plans to move some production overseas, closer to the markets where international customers live.

“A major part of our strategy will be working with in-country providers in places where the Gospel is exploding,” Featherstone said. “We want to help churches in those countries get the content and resources they need. We can’t just export an American model.”

LifeWay Global Resources also will develop new content from international authors.

“We have acquired authors from Latin America, and we are starting to acquire authors in India—we think God is raising up voices around the world,” Featherstone said.

Luis Lopez, director of LifeWay Espanol church resources, noted that LifeWay Global Resources is a channel by which “God is doing something very special around the world, raising disciples in all nations. It is exciting to join Him in serving His church globally.”

For the original article, visit bpnews.net.

Sparkhouse, a division of Augsburg Fortress, has announced its new children’s trade imprint, sparkhouse Family. The imprint’s launch list will release on August 4, 2015, and it will include three illustrated Bibles, six picture books, and eight DVDs containing animated videos.

Sparkhouse, a leading provider of curriculum resources for churches, is leveraging its long-standing expertise in faith-based multimedia resources to offer parents a broad selection of products that are both faith-filled and entertaining for today’s children.

“The team here at sparkhouse excels in using creativity and storytelling to create inspiring, Bible-based learning. Extending those efforts into the trade market is a natural next step," says Tim Paulson, sparkhouse’s vice president & publisher.

The imprint launches with a variety of appealing picture books, illustrated Bibles, and animated videos. For example, the Spark Bible Stories series of picture books launches with The Story of Creation and The Story of Moses and God’s Promise, richly illustrated stories perfect for reading aloud. The Holy Moly product line focuses on hilarious, accessible retellings of Bible stories that encourage kids’ creative engagement with them.

The line contains an illustrated Bible, a series of picture books, and an animated DVD series. The Whirl product line offers two animated video series-Whirl: Ada & Friends for ages 3-6 and Whirl: Leo & Friends for ages 7-10-that each focus on a group of kids navigating age-appropriate real-life problems using biblical values. Finally, the Connect: Becky & Todd’s Bible Adventures line launches with an animated series featuring a group of preteen kids running a community theater that specializes in theatrical productions of Bible stories.

More titles in each of these series will follow in October 2015 and February 2016, and the imprint plans to build out future lists with additional types of faith-based children’s multimedia products.

Jill Braithwaite has been hired as Director of Product Development for the Sparkhouse Family imprint. Braithwaite formerly led product development at both Capstone and Red Line Editorial.

More details about the imprint and its launch list can be found at sparkhouse.org.

Verve Marketing Group, in a collaborative effort with HarperCollins Christian Publishing, has been awarded the top category award in the Internet Advertising Awards (IAC) competition for the NIV Bible Website, thenivbible.com.

The annual IAC Awards competition is sponsored by the Web Marketing Association, an international organization of marketing, advertising, public relations, and web design professionals who share a passion for improving the quality of advertising, marketing and web site development.

The competition recognizes the best online advertising in 96 industries. Entries go head to head within each category and are judged on seven key criteria: creativity, innovation, impact, design, copywriting, use of the medium, and memorability.

“We are thrilled to have won the top award in the category,” says Joan Begitschke, chief marketing strategist at Verve Marketing Group. “We’re so grateful to get to work with the folks at HarperCollins Christian helping promote the NIV.”

“Being recognized by the Web Marketing Association as having the best faith-based website in 2015 is truly indicative of the impact we want the NIV’s website to have on its visitors,” said Jerri Helms, Senior Director for Bible Digital Marketing for HarperCollins Christian Publishing. “Verve Marketing Group was able to take our vision and create a cross-functional resource that told the NIV’s story in the most innovative way.”

Judges for the IAC Awards competition represent some of the best the Internet advertising community has to offer including representatives from Arc Worldwide, Campbell-Ewald, Digitas, EuroRSCG 4D, Google, Razorfish, TMP Worldwide, Wunderman / Y&R, and others.

Christian Retailing has announced the 2015 Christian Retailing’s Best awards finalists. Visit christianretailingsbest.com to access a list of this year’s finalists in categories such as Bibles, Books, Music and more.

Winners of the Christian Retailing’s Best awards will be presented at the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, Florida, which starts in late June.

Those who are part of the Christian products industry were qualified to vote in the awards, and were asked to judge the nominations on their impact, including their ability to speak to people’s hearts and evoke emotion; open people’s minds to new ways of thinking; and encourage and affirm Christlike living.

Introduced in 2001, the awards sponsored by Christian Retailing have been acknowledged as an important way of recognizing some of the most significant new life-changing products in the Christian retail industry.

See the Official Rules at christianretailingsbest.com or email Awards Coordinator Jenny Rose Curtis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions about the awards.

Eerdmans Publishing has announced that four of its books have been recognized as finalists for the 17th annual Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. The Right Word by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips, The Big Book of Slumber by Giovanna Zoboli and illustrated by Simona Mulazzani, and Way Below the Angels by Craig Harline were selected as finalists.

Each year, Foreword Reviews—a nationally distributed magazine—shines a light on select indie publishers, university presses, and self-published authors with outstanding publications. Over the next three months, a panel of more than 100 volunteer librarians and booksellers will determine the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award winners in 63 categories based on their experience with readers and patrons.

“After 17 years, our awards program has become synonymous with quality because our editors set such a high bar on the finalist round, which makes it especially tough for the judges who select the winners,” said Victoria Sutherland, publisher of Foreword Reviews. “In every genre, our judges will find an interesting, high-quality selection of books culled from this year’s entries.”

Foreword Reviews will celebrate the winners during a program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco on Friday, June 26 at 6 PM at the Pop Top Stage in the exhibit hall.

The Editor’s Choice Prize for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Foreword Reviews’ 2014 INDIEFAB Publisher of the Year Award will also be announced during the presentation.

Foreword Magazine Inc. is a media company whose publications include FOLIO: an award-winning quarterly print magazine, Foreword Reviews, and a website devoted to independently published books. The magazine features reviews of the best new titles from independent publishers, university presses and noteworthy self-published authors.

With the recent success of faith-based films in the Christian marketplace, super distributor New Day Christian continues to be the distribution leader in sales of the record-breaking God’s Not Dead movie, as well as the recent blockbuster release, Unbroken. Both Pure Flix Entertainment movies enjoyed superb box-office rankings during their runs, which have translated into DVD sales that have continued to drive traffic into Christian retail.
 
“God’s Not Dead and Unbroken have reached millions of lives around the globe,” says Adam Hastings, VP of Marketing at Pure Flix Entertainment. “People at Pure Flix have been praying for God to open doors for this level of impact since day one and we’re honored to be a part of it.”
 
Based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, New Day will be offering additional discounts on both Unbroken and God’s Not Dead throughout the summer months. For more information on New Day, visit newdaychristian.com.

Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, has announced that The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin and edited by Ravi Zacharias has reached a coveted sales milestone of 1 million copies sold.

Originally published in 1965, The Kingdom of the Cults was completely revised and updated in 2003 and continues to be the leading reference work on the major contemporary cult systems. It evaluates each cult’s history and beliefs, contrasting individual teachings with true biblical theology.

In an era of rapid cult growth worldwide, Christians today more than ever need the trustworthy information and biblical truths contained in The Kingdom of the Cults.

Martin held four degrees, having received his doctorate from California Coast University in the field of Comparative Religions. Author of a dozen books, a half-dozen booklets and many articles, Dr. Martin died in 1989.

Ravi Zacharias, president of Ravi Zacharias Ministries, is a respected speaker and author of many books.