Savings seem to be the order of the day with three chains majoring on the deals they are offering.

Family Christian Stores' email centers on $5-to 50%-off specials running through May 23 on a wide range of children's titles. Included are DVDs like VeggieTales' Josh and the Big Wall and Gigi's Big Break or $5 each and an Adventures in Odyssey DVD Gift Set featuring four discs for $19.98 (regular price, $39.97).

A separate email from the chain offers a pre-buy of VeggieTales' forthcoming Sweetpea Beauty: A Girl After God"s Own Heart for $12.97 instead of $14.99. The ESV New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs is priced at $5.

LifeWay Christian Stores promotes its May 15 Fiction Day, with a coupon for an in-store 25% off any one novel. The "Summer O' Savings" emailing presents savings from $2 to $10 and more, with the complete Word of Promise Audio Bible reduced from $124.99 to $87.49. The offer also includes a free $10 savings card with each $40 purchase, in-store only.

Berean Christian Stores new music promotion offers Tenth Avenue North's new The Light Meets the Dark for $10 until May 18, while MercyMe's The Generous Mr. Lovewell is available for 20% off the $15.99 list price. Chris Tomlin's Arriving, Mandisa's Freedom and Matthew West's Something to Say are among $5 albums also offered.

As the Christian music industry gears up for its big day of the year—the Dove Awards ceremony, April 21—retailers are majoring on music in their promotions.

LifeWay Christian Stores offers savings on recordings by all the nominees, with Francesca Battistelli's My Paper Heart Deluxe, Jason Crabb's self-titled release and Toby Mac's Tonight among the titles reduced from $13.99 to $11.99 each. Casting Crowns' Until the Whole World Hears is reduced to $9.99, while Ten Avenue North's Over and Underneath is available for $7.99.

Parable Stores are taking 20% off all the nominees, reducing Mary Mary's The Sound to $11.98, Skillet's Awake to $13.58 and Tonight to $9.97.

Family Christian Stores (FCS) presents a $7.97 special running through April 23. Among the titles available are Hello Love (Chris Tomlin), A New Hallelujah (Michael W. Smith), The Altar and the Door (Casting Crpwns) and Beauty Will Rise (Steven Curtis Chapman).

The chain also offers MercyMe's forthcoming The Generous Mr. Lovewell for a pre-buy price of $11.99, down from $15.99, and a free "Lovewell" bracelet, value $1, commemorating a donation from the proceeds to FCS' The James Fund, partnering with the band to support well-drilling projects in the Dominican Republic.

Another FCS pre-buy offers Newsboys' Born Again, out July 13, for $9.97 instead of the regular $13.99.

Mardel Christian & Education's $5 Music Selection includes Chris Tomlin's See the Morning, Matthew West's Something to Say, Mandisa's Freedom and Rush of Fools' Wonder of the World.

LifeWay's email promotion also highlights its April 17, third annual Tax Savings Day, giving 10% off shoppers' entire purchase. FCS's promotion includes a coupon for 25% of any one regularly priced item or 10% off a sale item.

Family Christian Stores leads the Easter week specials, with a 50%-off offer on books including Max Lucado's Fearless (available for $12.49), Bruce Wilkinson's You Were Born for This ($11.49) and Jentezen Franklin's Fear Fighters ($10.99).

The discounts are included in an email promotion that also includes a 12 Days of Easter special running March 24-April 4 that prices online music album sales at $5.99. Featured titles include Phillips, Craig & Dean's Fearless, Skillet's Awake, Sara Groves' Fireflies & Songs and Sandi Patti's Hymns of Faith...Songs of Inspiration.

Mardel Christian & Education offers 25% off all books, Bibles and software on April 3. The promotion also spotlights Zondervan study Bibles, with the NIV Life Application Study Bible in chocolate/turquoise duotone reduced from $69.99 to $34.99 and the NIV Study Bible: Updated Edition hardcoivervdown from $39.99 to $19.99.

Mardel also promotes a range of journals for $5 each, children's DVDs such as the "Boz" series for $7.99 each and 50% of kids books and Bibles. New music available March 30 includes the soundtrack to the new movie, Letters to God, for $13.99 and Amy Grant's new Somewhere Down the Road offered for $11.99.

Grant's latest, 12-track release also leads the latest email offer from Parable stores, available for $11.97, with some of her other collections—including The Breakout Years and The Pop Collection—each priced at $13.19. Keeping with a music emphasis, Parable also offers 20% off recordings by the nominees for this year's Dove Awards, to be announced April 25.

The Parable promotion also includes an in-store only special-a free Max Lucado greeting card from DaySpring with the purchase of two others. The offer runs April 1-June 30.

LifeWay Christian Stores also focuses on Amy Grant, offering Somewhere Down the Road for $11.99. The chain's email offer also presents $5 CDs, including Meredith Andrews' The Invitation (down from $11.99) and Big Daddy Weave's What Would Life Be Like (reduced from $13.99).

MercyMe's The Generous Mr. Lovewell, to release May 4, is offered for pre-buy at $9.99, with purchasers also getting an exclusive water bottle and a $5 savings card. The chain also offers the new DVD release, The Blind Side, for $22.99, down from $28.98.

Canadian quartet Newworldson gets a boost for its self-titled sophomore release, with spotlight promotions from LifeWay Christian Stores, Mardel Christian & Education and the Parable group.

The chain offers the 12-track release for $7.99, with the online offer including the free download of more information about the band. The same price is presented by Mardel.

Meanwhile online shoppers at Parable stores are being given the opportunity to buy the new CD for $5.99—and register to win a four-day, three-night trip to the Bahamas.

LifeWay's email promotion also offers Guy Penrod's Breathe Deep for $11.99, $2 off the regular price and four favorites for $10 each: Michael W. Smith's A New Hallelujah, Selah's You Deliver Me, Jeremy Camp's Speaking Louder Than Before and Newsboys' In the Hands of God. LifeWay also offers a $10 savings card with each $40 buy through March 6, in-store only.

The Parable promotion includes music specials that sell TobyMac's Tonight for $9.97 instead of $13.99 and Casting Crowns' Until the Whole World Hears for $11.19 instead of $15.98. There is also a pre-buy price of $9.97 for the new VeggieTales release, Pistachio: The Little Boy that Woodn't, available from this weekend.

Mardel also offers more than a dozen new T-shirt designs for $12.99 each and 50% off select books and Bibles. Included are Willard F. Harley Jr.'s His Needs, Her Needs for $9.99 and Emmerson Eggerichs' The Language of Love and Respect for $7.49.

Family Christian Stores focuses on deals for "thought-provoking fiction," with $5 off selected Francine Rivers titles with a pre-purchase of her forthcoming Her Mother's Hope for $18.74 instead of $24.99. Karen Kingsbury's Take Three, the next in her filmmaker series, can be ordered in advance for $11.24 instead of $14.99.

Two leading chains present half-off specials with an emphasis on children's products.

Mardel Christian & Education Supply is knocking 50% off items in Sheila Walsh's "Gigi, God's Little Princess" line. That prices DVDs Gigi's Big Break and Gigi: Bursting With Readiness at $7.49 each, God's Little Princess Devotional Bible hardcover at $8.49, Gigi's Royal Scepter at $5 and Gigi: God's Little Princess Doll at $9.99.

Family Christian Stores' "Share Your Faith With Your Kids" promotion sees Stephen Elkins' 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs reduced to $9.99 while Gwen Ellis' Read and Share Bible retails for $8.49. DVDs featured include Facing the Giants ($7.49) and the Wonders of God's Creation six-disc pack ($29.99).

The chain's offer also includes products for parents. Among them are Have a New Kind by Friday by Kevin Leman ($8.99), The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian ($6.99) and Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages of Children/Teens ($7.49).

Also part of the Family email is a pre-buy offer on the hit faith-based film, The Blind Side. Available on DVD March 23, the Oscar-nominated film can be purchased in advance for $24.97, $4.01 off the regular price.

Mardel's 50%-off list also includes more than a dozen items in a Heartsong collection that includes a petite hurricane tea light holder with finch design and a 3x3 photo frame with a butterfly and bird design (both from $19.99 to $7.99) and a wall plaque featuring a white flower and bird (from $16.99 to $7.99).

Special savings for last-minute Christmas shoppers lead the offers, with LifeWay Christian Stores providing a coupon for 33% off any one item. The "Last Minute Sale" deal is available in-store between 9 a.m. and noon on Dec. 18 and 19 only.

CLC Bookcenters offers two money saving specials on Dec. 18. Shoppers can get 20% of their entire non-sale purchases between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the Morning Glory Sale and 8 p.m.-midnight in the Midnight Gladness Sale. Church supply and curriculum products are excluded.

LifeWay's offers is extended with a week-long special on music, ending Dec. 19. Among the CDs reduced in price are Phillips, Craig and Dean's Fearless and Leeland's Love is on the Move, both down from $15.98 to $7.99. LifeWay is also giving away a $5 Bonus Bucks card with every $25-plus gift card purchase.

Parable stores' in-store coupon is tied to its effort to share the Christmas story with others. The Parable emailing offers a discount of 25% on one non-sale New Living Translation (NLT) Bible, valid in-store through Jan. 30, 2010. The "Give Christmas Away" email encourage shoppers to forward to their friends links to free downloads of the Christmas story and the gospel of John, in the NLT.

Family Christian Stores focuses on buys for children and teens, offering savings on JAMband, Dance Praise and Guitar Praise games. The chain is also taking 25% and more off selected Bibles for children and teens, with The faithGirlz Bible (NIV) down from $34.99 to $26.24. There is also 50% off all sweatshirts, tees and caps. The email includes a coupon for an additional 25% off customers' entire purchases.

Mardel Christian & Education presents a 50% saving on the duotone ESV Study Bible, reduced to $37.50, with children's Bibles available for $9.99. Sarah Palin's Going Rogue is offered at half price, $14.49.

Christian retail offers for the week of Nov. 16

The chain's email centers on the announcement of the next film from the makers of Fireproof, not due in theaters until 2011. Using the news as an opportunity to promote special offers on Sherwood Pictures' back catalog, the email includes a link to a YouTube spot by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, introducing Courageous, to be filmed next year and centered on fatherhood.

Building on interest in the forthcoming movie—about a group of law enforcement officers—LifeWay is offering Fireproof for $19.99, down from $24.98, and the two previous titles (Facing the Giants and Flywheel) for $10 each, reduced from $14.98.

Casting Crowns' highly anticipated Until the Whole World Hears is featured on sale at Mardel Christian & Education Supply for $11.99 (usual price $13.99). The CD is priced at $11.97 at Parable stores, which also offers a 20%-off coupon for online purchases of the recording, through Saturday only.

Parable also spotlights the new God Sightings One Year Bible at $9.97, reduced from $12.99, and includes a special offer on its exclusive Christmas music collection, Simple Joys. The CD is reduced from $9.97 to $4.97, and available free with an in-store purchase of $50.

CLC Christian Bookstores' Deal of the Week is The Chronological Study Bible, usual price $44.99, reduced to $22.49. The chain's "Making Christmas Memories" mailing also offers 50% off the NKJV Study Bible, down to $19.99, and Max Lucado's Fearless down to $18.99 from $24.99.