While the 400th anniversary of the King James Version will get most of the attention next year, 2011 marks the anniversary of another significant Bible innovation.

It will be 25 years since Tyndale House Publishers introduced the first edition specifically designed to help people get more out of God's Word by reading through the entire, re-ordered Scriptures in one year.

Since then the company has sold more than 6 million copies of various One Year Bibles, with other companies producing their own versions, too.

The format “gives readers a structure that provides variety and a daily goal to keep them on track and help them be successful,” said Blaine Smith, Tyndale's associate publisher for Bibles. “The testimonies of people who have used the One Year Bible are really quite remarkable. The bottom line: Bible reading changes your heart and renews your mind.”

While the final quarter is a major sales season for one-year Bibles, with many consumers wanting one with which to start the new year, Gary Davidson, senior vice president and group publisher for Bibles at Thomas Nelson, cautioned retailers against a “ 'one-year' mentality.”

He suggested that they promote the editions as “daily,” not “yearly” Bibles. “Invite people to get into the Bible at any time, not just in January. You can start or stop at any time, take a break and come back to it. It doesn’t have to be every day of the year if schedules don’t allow. The main thing is that the content of these Bibles offers readers inspiration no matter the day that they’re reading.”

Read more in the January 2011 issue of Christian Retailing, in the first of a monthly series of articles on Bible subcategories, to mark what the magazine is calling The Year of the Bible.

• Prev
• Next