"Think outside the box." "Color outside the lines." I'm sure you have heard these and other terms as you have been encouraged to be creative, to do something different and unusual. We get these exhortations a lot as people are trying to re-invent or at least re-energize the Christian retail industry.

It seems that we have been caught in the perfect storm. Even before the economy collapsed, we were being told there were things about our industry that needed to change. The rise of technology took a big bite out of the music side of our industry, and began nudging out the printed page.

Add to that all of the moral, ethical and social change around us, and you might be forgiven for beginning to believe there is no hope. But hold on!

Back on the first of the year, God impressed that very word on my heart: Hope. The word appears 166 times in 158 verses in the NIV Bible. In Job 7:6 we find a man with no hope; by chapter 13 he has the strongest form of hope, "though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him".

Though some of us may feel that things look almost as bad as Job's dilemma, I believe that in Christ we do have hope. We are involved in the only industry in the world whose purpose is to spread the gospel through retail. Some old things may have to be put away before we see recovery, but I do believe God will always provide a way for His Word-be it printed, digital or represented in gift form-to be made available.

The church bookstore is playing an important part in maintaining the Christian retail channel. As Gretchen Goldsmith commented about church stores at the Christian Retailing Web site after a recent article: "We know where our customers are 52 days a year." Every Sunday our churches are full of folks hungry for God and His Word-and we, as church bookstore managers, provide these products , and we also provide hope.

We need to maximize that opportunity by reaching as many of those in our congregations as possible. It may take more than thinking "outside the box"-we may have to throw the old box away and start again.

In a recent interview with World magazine, referenced in a Christian Retailing Update report, marketing expert Greg Stielstra noted that it was Apple who found a new way to market music to consumers. He went on to say that it was because they had nothing invested in the old way.

Summer is a great time to brainstorm with your bookstore staff, others on the church staff, and volunteers about new ideas, new ways of making products available to your congregation and maybe those outside your congregation.

Just suppose that you were starting the store all over again-what would you do differently? Are there Christian schools near your church? I can promise you they need Bibles, dictionaries and thesauruses. Why not pay a visit to the head of the school and see how your bookstore can provide those items?

Are there small churches near you without a place to get their church supplies? Summer would be a great time to get to know the various church secretaries, and find out if they have a source and how you might be able to help.

Is your church campus in multiple buildings-almost guaranteeing there is a part of your congregation that never comes near the store? Do you need to go to them? Is your youth building or area away from the store? Speak to the youth minister about suggestions for books, music or other items that would support his/her goals with the youth.

Create a coupon or some introductory offer to be placed in the hands of new members and visitors. When a new Christian is baptized, provide a gift from the bookstore. Consider every department of your church, every way your church touches lives and create ways, and how your store might plug into that effort.

There is still much hope for this industry. Simply because we are having to stretch a little further than we have in the past does not remove hope. So long as we remember why we are doing what we are doing, there is hope.

Timothy says it better than I: "(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" (1 Tim. 4:10, NIV).

What are you doing to build a new box? Please share your thoughts with me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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