Once viewed critically by some other Christian retailers, church bookstores are now being embraced as "part of something bigger" in the Christian products industry, according to a leader of the church bookstore movement.

The shift is seen in the way the annual Gathering of Church Bookstores has been broadened for 2009 to include independent retailers in the training-and-business event, said Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore network. The Gathering 2009 will be held Jan. 7-9 at The Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Fla.

"I think we will see people locking arms together," said Hulsey in a "Talking Points" interview for the Nov. 10 issue of Christian Retailing magazine. "We want to see the whole industry embracing each other. We just all want to get along.

"One of the goals in a church bookstore should be to train our people to shop Christian retail, period-whether it's in the church or at an independent in their neighborhood. … It's my job as a manager in my store to always let my people know where the local Christian retail is beyond us, because they're not here at church seven days a week."

Manager of The Garden Bookstore at Houston's First Baptist Church since 1993, Hulsey said past tensions in the industry were largely gone. "I think we've learned to work together. Many independent retailers have learned that church bookstores are not there for competition, but to be a contributor to the industry."

Read more in the Nov. 10 issue of Christian Retailing.

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