Without minimizing the enormous challenges resulting from the nation’s plunging economy, let me suggest that the stark financial crisis also presents Christian retailers with a golden opportunity.

How so? Well, our industry has long maintained that Christian retail is different to the regular kind. It’s about more than just the dollars ... and now we have a great chance to demonstrate that.

Existing customers are looking for resources to help them make sense of these tough times, or maybe to pass on to others. And there are probably some newcomers heading our way, too, as people who usually live without thinking of faith look for spiritual help in difficult days.

With this in mind, CBA is to be commended for promoting Christian stores as a vital community resource center through its Campaign Financial Aid project. And hats off to the various suppliers offering special deals on relevant materials.

But the question is: What are visitors going to find when they come through our doors? Will they discover the help and hope they are seeking? Or will they find just another business dealing with hard times?

Thomas Edison’s observation that most folk miss opportunity because it is “dressed in overalls and looks like work” doesn’t apply to many of the Christian stores I know where owners, managers and staff are working harder than ever. But I’m concerned that some of that extra effort may be misdirected.

I believe that our ability to seize the current moment depends on three simple but too often neglected things:

1. BEING PRESENT

We’ve got to be there to meet them. You can’t set foot inside Wal-Mart or Blockbuster without a greeter saying hello—but sometimes when you step inside a Christian store you’d be forgiven for thinking the rapture had happened and you’d missed it.

Frontliners nowhere to be found or otherwise engaged even if they are in sight is a common gripe in our Mystery Shopper critiques of Christian stores. But while backroom stuff and stocking are important, let’s remember that customers are not interruptions to the day. They are the reason for it.

Personnel cutbacks are a reality, of course—but that only makes it more important than ever that store owners and managers lead from the front. They need to be out there on the sales floor, setting the pace and the temperature.

2. BEING PREPARED

There’s been a lot of talk about how the Internet has changed shopping, but the Web works best for those who already know what they want. What about all those who aren’t really sure? The way we help them is crucial.

Understanding inventory isn’t an optional extra. Making sure that you and your team know your stuff is vital. That means finding time to keep on top of what’s what—even if it requires delegating or relegating other aspects of the business.

With this in mind, I hope that many stores take advantage of CBA Connect, the trade association’s new initiative specifically created to help Christian stores apart in the area of product knowledge.

3. BEING PERSONAL

Consumers not only have more options for where to spend their money than ever before, these days they are also being far more careful about parting with it. Yes, they want a bargain, but they are looking for a more than just a transaction—they want some kind of connection.

So we need to be engaging. Things may be hard, but our customers haven’t come to hear us moan about the cost of the lease. Pour out your problems in the backroom, by all means, but shine a light out on the floor, rather than casting a shadow.

Clearly, none of this is rocket science. But these three points are not just the essentials of good business. Rather, they are the very essence of effective ministry—the extra dimension that Christian retail can offer and which sets it apart.

Good inventory does remain crucial, of course, and that involves keeping a close eye on what is selling well.

To help with this, we’re revising our best-sellers coverage. You’ll note that we have retired our Christian Retailing Top 100 Books list from this issue in favor of presenting the monthly top sellers from CBA and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in what we believe will be a helpful comparative format.

And you’ll find additional category listings here, along with other exclusive online content. Take a few moments to check it out.