When William McGregor was named LifeWay Christian Stores' manager of the year recently, he told of how "the day to day ministry opportunities-touching the lives of people who come in our store-cannot be overlooked. As a store manager I've done immensely more ministry in the bookstore than I ever did as a pastor."

If the ministry opportunities are this great in a chain store, how much greater and more personal can they be in a church bookstore?

We talk a lot about the retail side of what we do, and we must. If we ignore the finances, inventory, appearance or other retail basics we will not be able to do the ministry that is available to us. And yet, the ministry opportunity of a church bookstore is why most of us agreed to take on the jobs we have.

The recent closures of Central Illinois' Berean Bookstores chain in Champaign, Peoria, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal and LaSalle/Peru has left a huge void in the area-giving church bookstores the opportunity to play a much more important role in the communities affected by the losses.

Our Harvest Bookstore at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Ill., has been in operation since the early 1990s, and we have benefited from the competition and the wisdom of Dave Byrne's Berean stores. Recently, we have been able to share some of what we have learned with other congregations looking to develop their own bookstore operations.

By Cynthia Hoppe

Though church attendance can dip in the summer, business doesn't have to slow if you turn your bookstore into a one-stop shop for congregants' summer resource needs.

Many customers will come in looking for resources to keep themselves and their children occupied on car trips. While they may be looking for DVDs for the kids to watch, they'll also be searching for something they can listen to while driving.

A good children's department should take into account that youngsters like to play together and sit on the ground when they are looking at books-requiring more floor space than in other parts of the store. Sight lines throughout the rest of the store should be clear, too, for security. And bright colors will make the section more appealing.

 

My, my, shame on them! To begin, you should call the publishers who have allowed this to happen. Contact their customer service departments, and tell them about your dilemma and how you would like your account to be handled in the future.

Ask your customer service representative how you can ensure that the person placing the order is authorized to charge on your account. You will probably want to:

Many parents do not consider passing on their faith in God to their children to be a sign of how successfully they have raised their family-and that includes some Christian moms and dads.

A recent LifeWay Christian Resources study found that the most common definitions of successful parenting were children having good values and becoming happy adults (25% each), or their finding success in life (22%) and being a good person (19%).

Every store manager and staff member who votes in the 2009 Retailers Choice Awards will be entered in a drawing to win some of the 250 nominated products for their store.

We asked: The way telephone calls are handled by stores give customers an impression of the store before they ever set foot inside. How do you handle calls at your store?

"We are a bookstore within a large church. The church phone system has over 50 extensions. The bookstore has its own extension for the convenience of the caller through the main number, but we also have a direct line for access with four telephone stations in the store for call pickup. Our vendors, regular customers and ticket office customers use our direct line.

Share your ideas, experiences and thoughts at thechurchbookstore@strang.com.

 

"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator"

Col. 3: 9-10, NIV