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

In Houston we have just had our first cold front blow through. Elsewhere, some of you have already seen your first snow. There is no doubt we are into the fall season—both with weather and with retail.

I was shopping this weekend and saw all the stores working on their Christmas displays. What really dismayed me was that I saw very little sign of Thanksgiving. I think that the Thanksgiving holiday has become more about "black Friday" retail sales and football games than with giving thanks for that with which God has blessed us.

It seems that we, as a nation, have not only forgotten about Thanksgiving and its intended purpose, but we have forgotten to be thankful. Many time-honored traditions of thankfulness have disappeared.

Meal-time prayers of gratitude for provision are often skipped because members of the family eat at separate times. Handwritten notes of thanks for gifts and other kindnesses have all but disappeared. I recently read about an e-mail blast sent out by a newlywed to all who attended her wedding and sent gifts, thanking them. Somehow I think that was just one more thing on her "to-do" list.

Yet, there are more than 100 verses in the Scriptures that admonish us to be thankful, tell us how to be thankful or express the thankfulness of the writer. In Eph. 5:20 Paul sums it up by saying, "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

CBA Chairman-elect George Thomsen will be among the speakers at a regional meeting, Monday, Oct. 19, at Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos, Calif. He is manager of the award-winning Harvest Store at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif.

Topics for the event will include "Retail Essentials-Developing a Bookstore," "Building and Maintaining a Volunteer Team" and "Merchandising Your Store."

Contact Cottonwood Bookstore Manager Rose Seeley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 714-947-5356.

As you make plans for 2010, you will want to be sure that you have budgeted time and money for attending The Gathering at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23.

This, our sixth annual event, promises to be the best yet with three days of fellowship, worship, inspiration, training and business. Connect with leading suppliers, fellow church bookstore staff and other Christian retailers from across the country.

Free registrations are available to stores that place qualifying orders during the Christian Retailing Virtual Christmas Showcase.

To find out more, go to http://vcs.christianretailing.com.

by Sara Peters

The most important thing is to be organized. We recently had Lee Strobel and Max Lucado here—on separate occasions, of course—and we worked with the publishers weeks in advance to make sure that we had quantities of books shipped to us on time.

We asked all of our volunteers to give their time for the weekend, and we had specific posts for them, as a book runner, a door greeter or an autograph-line host. Arrangements were also made with the author if they were able to pre-sign books. And we worked closely with our events ministry to route customers effectively who were waiting for the books to be signed.

For a local author, we place them in a visible place in the store that will encourage customers to see them. Authors appreciate simple courtesies such as bottled water and regular checks to see if they need anything.

A couple of weeks in advance we place signage in the store that announces the signing, and our staff encourages customers to come back and visit the author.

-Sara Peters is manager of The Living Word bookstore at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

To read the complete article, go to http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=17014.

Baby gifts may be a niche category, but it can be a fruitful one as members of the church look for inspirational gifts to celebrate a new arrival. In addition to items for the newborn, displays can be cross-merchandised to promote books and other items for the parents. Christ Church Bookstore at Christ Church in Plano, Texas, devotes a whole corner to baby items.

My store's cash wrap is getting overly cluttered. How can I clean it up?

The cash wrap is the core of your store, so special attention is always necessary to keep it clean and organized.

Clean all the surrounding surfaces. That includes phones, keyboards, the counter and anything within sight of a customer. Avoid keeping unnecessary items on the counter-put away scissors, pens, notepads and anything that can be organized in a place out of view.

Once you have cleaned the area and organized the supplies, go around to the front of the counter and view the area as if you were a customer. Do you feel the area is free of obstructions as you approach? Can you place your oversized purse on the counter along with any purchases?

Remember, two of the most important transactions in your store take place here: This is where you encounter your customer on a personal basis and where you ring up their items. How this area looks has a lot to do with how your customer feels about your efficiency and professionalism.

Got a question for Betty Bookstore? Write to her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

As you prepare for one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year, don't miss out on the resources available to you through our Virtual Christmas Showcase.

This online event features key products and offers from more than 20 leading suppliers, plus additional interviews and materials intended to help you make the most of the next few weeks.

Among those participating is Carpentree, whose marketing manager Sherry Morris presents details of the company's offers—which include "quick ship" delivery options—in a variation on the classic Christmas poem, The Night Before Christmas.

The virtual Carpentree booth also spotlights eight products and includes links to the company's Web site and latest catalog.

Go to http://vcs.christianretailing.com.

Though it remains to be seen how church bookstores will be impacted, some church ministries have been axed as a result of the economy.

The recession has "drained the financial resources of many congregations, seminaries and religious day schools," reported the Associated Press. "Some congregations have disappeared, and schools have been closed. In areas hit hardest by the recession, worshipers have moved away to find jobs, leaving those who remain to minister to communities struggling with rising home foreclosures, unemployment and uncertainty."

While religion "has a long history of drawing hope out of suffering ... there's little good news emerging from the recession," noted reporter Rachel Zoll. "Long after the economy improves, the changes made today will have a profound effect on how people practice their faith, where they turn for help in times of stress and how they pass their beliefs to their children."

David Roozen, a lead researcher for the Faith Communities Today multi-faith survey, which measures congregational health, said that in 2010 he expected to see 10-15% of congregations "saying they're in serious financial trouble."

The Association for Christian Schools International, which represents about 3,800 private schools, said that enrollment is down nationally by nearly 5%. About 200 Christian schools closed or merged in the last academic year—50 more than the year before.

Meanwhile, at least 80 members of the Association of Theological Schools, which represents graduate schools in North America, have seen their endowments drop by 20% or more.

Source: Associated Press

To read the complete article, go to http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gE4LyJm9NqXbOsPwuxcZ0SJfWokQD9B0G8M00.

We asked how you used discounts to promote your store.

"Discounts are a big draw. Our church has a large employee base so I send out an e-mail when I have something special to advertise and I remind them they have a discount. Lots of sales come from these reminders, and the goal is to get them to come in and buy more. If they come in and buy something with their discount, hopefully they will show someone else and it will snowball into more sales."

Genelle Ellis, manager
Phoenix First Assembly Bookstore
Phoenix First Assembly, Phoenix

What do you do to evaluate your team members' service and encourage them toward excellence? Do you have a written or informal annual review or progress reports? Does it make a difference whether your store team is made up of paid staff or volunteers?

Share your experiences, ideas and insights with others at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..