A message from Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore Network:

As bookstore managers in a church, we are a rare breed. Most of our co-laborers on the church staff are seminary- or Bible school-trained, they are focused on a given ministry of the church, or they work in support of one of those ministries as an associate or administrative assistant.

The majority of church staffs have formal schools they can go to or have attended. Administrative assistants have technical schools and continuing education classes they can be a part of in order to hone their skills.

Not us. We have brought into the church a rare

blend of retail-considered by some to be "of the world"-and ministry. And where do we go to be better at what we do? There's no doubt that general business courses can help us manage the business side of things better. But what about the ministry part of what we do?

Who can show us how to best tie the two elements of retail and ministry together? And what about the differences in what we do compared to other retail operations? Who can help us work all of these things together for the good of our church?

As with any education, it is best to learn from those who have "been there, done that." And if they have "bought the T-shirt," too, even better.

Summer provides a great opportunity to spend some time adding to your knowledge, because it's a season that is usually slower for churches and retail alike. A great place to find some of that help will be at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Denver, July 12-15.

There will be two specific opportunities for church bookstore managers, workers, and volunteers to learn from those who have experience in church bookstores. On Tuesday, July 14, at 8:30 a.m., Beverly Miller-formerly a church bookstore manager in the Northwest-will present a workshop helping us better understand how to use volunteers. Of course, in these days of economic challenge, using volunteers is one way to stretch our dollars.

Later the same day, at 10 a.m., Jo Ann Panter-who has owned an independent Christian store and also a store inside a church-will offer tips on keeping the church bookstore "top of mind" with our congregations. We all know the challenge of getting our own congregants to remember they have a bookstore and to use it as their primary source for Christian material.

Both of these classes are basic to running a successful retail store with ministry as its mission in a church. If you have registered for ICRS, be sure to set aside Tuesday morning to focus on becoming better at what you do. It will be time well spent.

I will be there, and I look forward to seeing you. If you're not able to attend, look out for a report on the sessions in a future issue of The Church Bookstore Newsletter. As always, I want to hear from you. Your ideas and comments are very important to me and the Church Bookstore Network. You can contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..