Though she loves the extra space available for inventory in her recently expanded facility, the manager of the 2011 Church Bookstore of the Year is most excited about its area that isn’t about sales.

A couple of chairs and a low table off to one side at The Bookmark at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., are “very important,” said Dottie Poythress (pictured left). “This is ministry space. Sometimes we have people that come in who need to talk with someone or pray with someone.

“It’s also a great place to sit if you are trying to make a decision, if maybe they have several Bibles to choose from.”

The Bookmark has expanded to around 1,800 square feet since moving to the new activities center at the Atlanta-area church, opened in October. “I had so much that was in storage that we have been able to put out, and so now we are able to display things much better,” Poythress said.

The bookstore and its adjoining library have also been enhanced by the addition of an adjacent café. “It’s really been helping the bookstore,” said Poythress, who has overseen the book-selling and loaning services for more than 10 years.

The two complement each other, she said. “We have been blessed to have both because often people will come into the bookstore, and if they are interested in something, we will send to the library to check it out first. They will often come back and purchase it for themselves or for somebody else.”

Receiving the award at Christian Retailing’s Retailing ReBoot 2011 event in April for “outstanding contributions in the development and service of Christian retail,” Poythress said: “It has always been ministry first. It’s a joy to know I am where God wants me to be.”

Geni:·A little help from my friends

OK, I am now a believer. I’m not talking about faith in Christ, of course. That happened when I was 13 and has been the guiding force in my life ever since.

I··mean Facebook and other social media.

My first thought when I heard about this trend was, “My goodness, I seem to spend too many hours a day now in front of my computer already without one more reason to go there.”

But recently, in conversation with our regional directors and other leaders in the Church Bookstore Network, we decided it was time to seriously involve the group in Facebook. Previous attempts to start some kind of online connection for church bookstore folk had seen limited involvement. It took real dedication to go there on a regular basis.

But visiting Facebook is something that is so natural these days. A great example of its far-reaching force occurred on my birthday, recently. That morning I found more than 60 birthday greetings from all over the United States.·I was amazed.

Facebook isn’t just about birthdays, though. People who are seriously looking to connect for business or spiritual guidance are going there to connect with others.

So we have created two Facebook groups: Church Bookstore Network and Church Bookstore Staff. With Church Bookstore Network, we will welcome anyone involved in Christian retail to “friend” us and join the conversation. It is a great place for suppliers to connect with stores, mention specials, introduce sales personnel and discuss policies with stores.·Authors and artists can let church stores know of their availability to speak or sign books or CDs. Regional and local meetings of church bookstores will be announced here.

Church Bookstore Staff is for managers, volunteers and paid workers in church bookstores. This group is for discussion about specific problems—or praises—among those who are or who have been a part of a church bookstore staff. Here you can get advice from others who have faced similar situations. You can share successes with promotions or events, post pictures of your store and/or events.·

The possibilities are endless. Join us.·

 Geni Hulsey is president of the Church Bookstore Network.

Out-of-print book in demand

By Andy Butcher

An author signing for an out-of-print book at an Indiana church store went so well that organizers had to hastily arrange a pre-purchase form to sell additional copies.

Ashley Smith Robinson signed and sold all 125 copies of her Unlikely Angel when she spoke at four services at Granger Community Church in Granger during a “The Rest of the Story” series of guest speakers.

Published in 2005 by William Morrow, the book tells how Robinson survived an armed kidnapping and persuaded her abductor to surrender to police by reading to him from Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life.

Robinson met parishioners and signed her book in the hall outside of the bookstore. “We had a better response than expected,” said Manager Susan Chipman. “You never really know how well a guest speaker will connect with your crowd, but she did a great job. I think that she was really well received by our crowd because so many either have a family member dealing with addictions or prison.”

When all copies Robinson had sent from her personal inventory were sold, the bookstore team hastily printed up an order form for pre-purchases that Robinson promised to sign and ship on her return home. “She actually suggested it,” said Chipman. “I really didn’t think anyone would go for it, but I was wrong.” The store sold an additional 47 copies that were mailed later.

In addition to being a financial success, the signing “exposed some people to the bookstore that may not take the time to visit on a regular weekend,” Chipman said. 

Reception promotes ‘tweener’ resources 

By Andy Butcher

Around 80 mothers and daughters turned out for a special Tweeners Night hosted by the bookstore at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (OCBF) in Dallas.

The three-hour event in March featured food and activities, a movie, giveaways, an introduction to some of the products available in the store and a message from Miss Black Texas, Ocielia Gibson, a staff member at OCBF and a mentor in the local public schools.

Parents who attended the event—promoted in the church’s bulletin and in the children’s ministry newsletter—were given a gift certificate towards the purchase of tween products at the store.

Bookstore Director Terri Williams decided to host the event because children’s product sales had been “slow,” and she felt that the 8- to 12-year-old age group was often overlooked. Products were not on sale at the event “because the purpose was to expose them to products in a fun-filled environment.

Williams was “overwhelmed” by the response. “Many of them came in to redeem their coupons and thanked us.”

 Gift-with-cash stewardship offer

By Andy Butcher

Staff members at an Orlando, Fla.-area church bookstore are helping drive home a lesson on good financial stewardship by offering a free gift to customers who pay with cash.

The special was introduced at the bookstore at Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood as hundreds of members went through financial planning author and broadcaster Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program. It was the idea of Manager Donna Duckhorn, who completed the study herself last year and saw a two-fold benefit.

“We were looking for a way to cut costs in the store, especially credit card-processing fees,” she said. “It was also a small incentive, a way of reinforcing what they have been learning. They have been just thrilled when they find out they get a free gift.”

The free gift offer has been available for shoppers Monday through Wednesday, but not on weekends, “because we just couldn’t handle it,” Duckhorn said. “It’s too busy then to have someone picking through a jar to figure out what they want.”

The promotion has been advertised at the store’s blog and Facebook page and is offered by staff and volunteers at the point of sale. Among the giveaways have been votive candles, CDs, magnets and pocket prayer cards. 

“We have been looking for anything that I can get for under 50 cents,” Duckhorn said. “We would love to see it really impact our fees, so we have been encouraging people to pay cash if they can.”

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