Helping parents protect and nurture their children presents an opportunity for Christian stores to set themselves apart from the increasing competition they face, owners and managers were told at The Gathering 2010.

More than ever, with unwholesome trends in entertainment content for the young, "parents are going to look to you to fulfill your traditional role as gatekeeper to their children," author and children's market expert Mary Manz Simon said Friday in her keynote presentation on trends in the category.

That is "especially true for the themes in teen fiction," she said, noting "depressing, dark, melancholy are common denominators there."

Sketching how technology is changing consumer attitudes and publisher offerings, Simon said that it was increasingly important that stores highlighted to customers how they were helping build strong families.

That meant embracing social media, she added: "We live in a time when news no longer breaks, it tweets. In how many ways do you connect with your customers?"

Simon closed by encouraging attendees that "your service has never been more important. You are called to share God's timeless message with a changing world."

Her presentation was the last of more than a dozen educational sessions at the April 21-23 event that drew around 300 bookstore representatives and suppliers to Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

In addition, the program included lunchtime discussions on e-books and bargain books, inspirational messages, more than nine hours of exhibition time for 90-plus exhibitors and an autograph party with 29 authors and artists. Among the participants was novelist Liz Curtis Higgs, who lives in the area, also spoke to the group about pursuing excellence in their work.

The event was "excellent" for Dennis Woods, bookstore manager at Water's Edge Resource Center at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, Texas. "It is the only one I attend," he said. "I look forward to it each year."

Dottie Poythress, manager of The Bookmark at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., said she had found "some new things I would not have seen if I had not been here." There was "a great spirit, a real sense of enthusiasm and excitement" at the event, she said.

Dave Condiff, publisher of Christian Retailing and The Church Bookstore magazines, which hosted the event, said: "It was evident from the comments made by both our attendees and our vendors that this year's event was special and that God's presence was evident throughout. ... One of many highlights was to see and hear how stores responded to the mix of vendors we had on site and to hear that sales were strong with many of the companies on the exhibit floor."

Watch below to see and hear what other attendees had to say about The Gathering 2010.

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