Christian Retailing

'You and Me Forever' hits sales milestone Print Email
Written by Jeremy Burns   
Monday, 15 June 2015 02:18 PM America/New_York

you-and-me-foreverSend The Light Distribution (STL) is marking a significant milestone in its ministry-focused partnership with Francis Chan, author of the best-selling Crazy Love. The Bristol, Tennessee-based distributor has sold more than 140,000 units of You and Me Forever, which Chan penned with his wife, Lisa, with the twin goals of strengthening marriages and helping women and children at risk.

All proceeds from the sale of the book are going to overseas projects, with Chan's Crazy Love ministry seeking to raise $5 million to help build a village for women rescued from prostitution in Ethiopia.

Released in August 2014, You and Me Forever takes a different approach to many other books on marriage, looking at a husband and wife's relationship in the light of eternity.

"The feedback has been pretty amazing," said Kevin Kim, executive director at Crazy Love. "It’s been very encouraging to hear how deeply people have been touched by the book."

As sole distributor for You and Me Forever—which recently reached the New York Times best-seller list—STL has been responsible for helping promote the book to and serve all physical and online retail channels carrying the title, which is available in hardcover and trade paperback editions.

With momentum building, a complementary workbook was released in March, and an iOS and Android app debuted in April. Including digital and audio editions of the book, the app includes highlighting and note-making features, and allows couples to share comments and thoughts about what they are reading with each other. In addition, a free PDF download of the book is available for those who cannot afford to buy a copy.

"We're thrilled at the success of the book so far, and are delighted to be part of such an important project," said Darren Henry, president of STL's Advocate Distribution Solutions division. "The Chans' vision to make a difference not only in readers' lives but also help others as a result is a natural fit with our focus at STL—for us 'Christian' is not a category of products we carry but our very reason for existing, to help distribute life-changing Christian resources."

Kim expressed appreciation for how STL had "worked hard in making sure this message is available to as many people as possible." So far $500,000 has been raised towards the village planned by Crisis Aid International, a U.S.-based relief organization working in Ethiopia.

"Any amount over that would go to other ministry projects that focus on serving the poor and getting the gospel to unreached places," said Kim.