Christian Retailing

Christian publishers showcase resources at Children's Pastors' Conferences Print Email
Written by Eric Tiansay   
Wednesday, 16 January 2013 08:59 AM America/New_York

Standard Publishing, Gospel Light, LifeWay Kids and other Christian publishers will showcase their latest resources at this year's Children's Pastors' Conferences (CPC), touted as "premier" events that focus exclusively on children's ministry.

Expected to draw thousands of children's ministry leaders, the International Network of Children's Ministry's CPC will be held Jan. 16-19 in Orlando, Fla., and Feb. 18-21 in San Diego, featuring more than 100 breakout sessions, networking opportunities and a resource center.

Standard Publishing will present the music and missions components of its new God's Backyard Bible Camp VBS, including mini-concerts from award-winning artist Yancy, who will sing several of songs she wrote for this year's Vacation Bible School (VBS) curriculum.

Beth Guckenberger, author of the Tales of the Defended Ones and executive director of Back2Back Ministries, will also share about the Kids Serving Kids mission outreach, a central part of Standard's latest VBS.

In addition, Gayla Gongdon will sign copies of her new book, Disrupted: Cultivating a Mission-Focused Life, at the Standard booth and lead a workshop titled "Building Missional Families: Helping Parents Develop a Missions Heart in the Lives of Their Children."

"We are thrilled to continue partnering with the dedicated servants who are the heart of children's ministry," said Standard's Vice President of Marketing Stephanie Woeste. "By visiting the booth and attending our ministry partners' workshops, these leaders will experience a wide range of our helpful resources from VBS to missions to the weekly curriculum that keeps their kids steadily growing in Christ."

My Healthy Church Network is leading the "Being a Spirit-Empowered Ministry" session, part of CPC's new "Micro Conference" experience, which will focus on what it means to be a Spirit-empowered ministry to kids in today's culture.

Previous CPC events have drawn more than 5,000 people annually. The conferences in Orlando and San Diego will also feature authors and speakers Sheila Walsh and Margaret Feinberg.

Click here to view a full schedule of conference events and booth locations.

 
FOX News to host sand artist Joe Castillo Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 05:45 PM America/New_York

JoeCastillo.WebSand story artist Joe Castillo—known as a finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent show—will appear this weekend on FOX News’ Huckabee. Television personality, pastor and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will host Castillo, also an author and speaker, on the show Saturday, Jan. 19. 

Long before Castillo’s stint on America’s Got Talent, with its 23 million viewers, he was creating sand-story performances for youth conventions, churches and companies, including Fortune 500 companies such as CBS, The Walt Disney Co., Mercedes-Benz and Apple. He also has performed for world leaders in nearly 20 countries.

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Halle Joy moves into new distribution center Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 05:33 PM America/New_York

HalleJoy.Heart-FeltToteHalle Joy moved into a new warehouse and distribution center in Carrollton, Texas, in December. The move brings all of the company’s products into one central location from six factories in China.

“Our new space allows for quicker turnaround of orders and ease from receiving to shipping,” said Steve Slaughter, owner, president and CEO.

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Spirit & Truth Christian Jewelry Designs reports 2012 growth Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 04:33 PM America/New_York

SpiritTruth.DualDisplayWebSpirit & Truth Christian Jewelry Designs reported solid growth in 2012, as the Valencia, Calif., company sold 500 standing floor models to showcase its designs in stores.

Each of the models holds more than $5,000 in retail merchandise, so the company has achieved more than $1.3 million in floor model sales alone, Eddie Nostrand, sales director, said during CBA’s NEXT 2013 training event last week in Atlanta.

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Hobby Lobby, Mardel avoid Obamacare fines Print Email
Written by Eric Tiansay   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 11:28 AM America/New_York

Hobby Lobby Stores and sister retailer Mardel Christian and Education have "discovered a way" to avoid being penalized by the federal government for not covering abortion-inducing drugs in their employee healthcare plans. An attorney for the Green family, which owns the Oklahoma-based companies, said the chains could avoid fines for several months.

Starting Jan. 1, when the new healthcare plan was to take effect, Hobby Lobby and Mardel were to face fines of up to $1.3 million daily for defying the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' abortion pill mandate, a regulation under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).

However, Peter Dobelbower, an attorney and vice president for Hobby Lobby, said in a Jan. 10 statement that that date had been postponed, but he didn't elaborate.

"Hobby Lobby discovered a way to shift the plan year for its employee health insurance, thus postponing the effective date of the mandate for several months," Dobelbower said. "Hobby Lobby does not provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in its healthcare plan. Hobby Lobby will continue to vigorously defend its religious liberty and oppose the mandate and any penalties."

Last month, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied the request by Hobby Lobby and Mardel for an injunction while the case is pending, saying the stores did not meet the legal standard for blocking the requirement on an emergency basis. However, she said, the companies may still challenge the regulations in the lower courts.

In November, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton said that although churches and other religious organizations have been granted constitutional protection from the abortion mandate, "Hobby Lobby and Mardel are not religious organizations."

 
Dove Foundation endorses books with 'Family Approved' seal Print Email
Written by Eric Tiansay   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 10:42 AM America/New_York

The Dove Foundation, known for awarding its highly regarded blue-and-white "Family Approved" seal to movies and DVDs, has added a new book category for reviews and endorsements.

"We've always tried to respond to the market demand for our services," said Dove Foundation CEO Dick Rolfe. "And we began moving in the direction of books by reviewing movie screenplays from writers who were looking for our endorsement as a means of attracting producers and investors."

For more than two decades, the foundation has reviewed movies and DVDs for family-friendly content, reaching an estimated 1 million viewers through www.dove.org and several partners' websites. Reviews and endorsements also are sent regularly via email to approximately 80,000 supporters and subscribers.

The foundation created a task force that resulted in the addition of "Faith Friendly" and "Faith Based" seals to identify films that contain religious content after being contacted by CBA officials in 2010. Soon Dove started receiving requests from movie producers to review novelizations and books related to their films. For example, Dove was asked to review five books based on Courageous, the hit Christian movie from Sherwood Pictures.

"Just as we valued Dove's 'Family Approved' seal for our film, we wanted readers of the various books associated with Courageous to have the same level of confidence," said Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the film, and co-wrote the novelization.

Discussions with several publishers followed, making the foundation aware of the need for reviews of books, especially teen and young adult novels as well as children's books, according to Dove Client Services Director Scott Rolfe.

"We trained a team of skilled book reviewers and an editor in Dove's unique review process," Rolfe said. "Now we have the infrastructure in place to handle the increased demand from publishers, authors and agents."

Dove has published reviews of more than 100 books and manuscripts to date, include older releases.

Click here for more information on the Dove Foundation's book reviews.

 
Ted Dekker giveaway drives interest in new novel Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 10:25 AM America/New_York

IdentityTed Dekker fans responded in droves when the best-selling author invited readers to download four episodes of his upcoming fiction release, Eyes Wide Open (Outlaw Studios), with the first episode for free.

“We never expected 200,000 to join us on this episodic ride,” said an e-mail sent to those who signed up for the promotion.

Fans were shown appreciation on Dekker’s Facebook page: “Thank you for proving to the world that stories can be engaged in fresh, new ways.”

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Dove Awards moves back to Nashville, switches to October Print Email
Written by Eric Tiansay   
Monday, 14 January 2013 01:50 PM America/New_York

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is moving the Dove Awards back to Nashville after a two-year run in Atlanta, and switching its marquee event from April to October.

"We have spent a lot of time talking to our members and industry leaders across the board in an effort to assess our environment and create a plan to meet current needs," GMA Executive Director Jackie Patillo wrote in a letter sent to association members just before Christmas. "Many of you have inquired about the 44th Annual GMA Dove Awards, and I am happy to report that it is corning back home to Nashville. In order to maximize its potential, the Dove Awards will be moving to a new October date in 2013. We are in discussion with strategic partners that will bring needed strengths to the table."

Patillo told Christian Retailing that "in order to maximize the potential of the Dove Awards, it was necessary to make the moves."

"It's necessary for all businesses to not play to the status quo and do things the way they've always done it," added Patillo, noting that the specific Nashville location has not yet been finalized. "We want to be effective for the current economic climate. GMA is doing a lot of retooling right now and this is just a part of it."

Held for the first time outside of Nashville in April 2010 at Atlanta's historic Fox Theatre, the Dove Awards sold out in record time, attendance was up 50% from the 2009 show and the event garnered its highest ratings on the Atlanta-based Gospel Music Channel—with more than 1.5 million viewers, GMA officials said.

The organization's showcase event was again held at the Fox and televised on GMC in 2012.

GMA has been working to bounce back since the association experienced a financial crisis in 2009 that threatened its very existence. The association posted a profit in 2010 for the first time in three years, reduced a total debt of $921,000 to a manageable amount and sold its Nashville facility for $697,000 in October 2010.