It is well-known in retail that the last quarter of the year is the most financially important one of the year. The same period is the most important when it comes to church planning, too.

Fall sees people settling back into routines after the summer break-school, work, volunteering. Churches plan for special events, beginning new Bible studies, discipleship series and music programs. In retail there is an emphasis on back-to-school, fall festivities, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Many church bookstores see their activity slow down in the summer, which makes it a great time to look ahead and be sure that the August-through-December period is the best it can be. Here are a few things you might consider during your summer "slowdown," so that you finish strong at the end of the calendar year.

Christmas: If you have not already "bought Christmas," now is the time to do it. Many of the secular markets have June events that still have Christmas items available. CBA's International Christian Retail Show, at the end of the month, will have vendors with Christmas items available. If gift reps come to your store, you certainly should have seen their Christmas lines by now.

Buying for the Christmas season is a huge task, and the earlier it is done, the less burdensome can be. It is nice to put your head on your pillow in July knowing that December is taken care of.

Many of the same sources you use for Christmas products will also have those back-to-school and fall items you will need to get you through the early part of the season.

Books: If you have publisher reps who come to see you, they will present those seasonal releases, but if not, and you buy primarily from distributors, be sure that you check Christian Retailing magazine for titles like Thanksgiving stories, Advent devotionals and other season-specific titles.

Network: The next thing you can do this summer to prepare for that last quarter of the year is keep your ears open. The ministerial and program planning staff at your church are having all sorts of planning sessions to be sure they are ready for the return of the flock in the fall.

Plan a time to be with each of them—twice. In your first meeting, just listen. Ask a few questions about the direction they hope to take in the fall and about any special activities they have planned. Tell them you would like a week or so to do some research and then would like to meet with them again.

After that first meeting, you might meet with your staff and share what you have learned. If you have volunteers, meet with them, too. They may have some wonderful ideas about books or other ways the bookstore can assist a particular ministry.

Do your research. Whether you look at catalogs online or in hard copy, search those lists for upcoming releases that might fit into the plans of each ministry. For backlist ideas, talk with your sales reps or do a subject search on the search engine of your favorite distributor.

And don't forget gifts in your strategy. Most ministers give gifts to their volunteers for Christmas. When there are multiple gifts to be bought, they are usually looking for an inexpensive but relevant book or gift item. You may want to offer gift baskets, if you have the volunteer staff to make that happen.

When you are prepared with ideas for each ministry, make that second appointment and share your thoughts with each program director. They will be pleased that you have taken the time to think about their ministry and most likely will allow you to order some items for them. If you jump in front of this now, you will avoid the dreaded response, "I have already ordered our items from ____________."

The days are getting hot and muggy, and the crowds are getting smaller at church as people take vacations, visit family and go to the beach for the weekend. Take advantage of the slower traffic to prepare and make this the best fourth quarter you have ever had.

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