And you thought Christmas was over. Let's take a look at that checklist: The decorations are put away, you have cleaned the store, placed some fresh merchandise on the shelf and done an evaluation of the Christmas selling season.

What's that? You have done it all except the evaluation.

A crucial part of any major season-especially Christmas-that must be completed in order to call it finished is the evaluation. It is the part that will help you better plan for next Christmas.

We are very excited to be hosting The Gathering 2010 at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23. We are confident that during your time with us you will experience growth, refreshment and a more solid assurance that God has called you to your role in sharing the good news with others through Christian retail.

As we make final preparations for what promises to be a special time of training, fellowship, inspiration and business, let me offer my Top Ten reasons why you must join us, if you have not already planned to do so.

by Heidi Macias

Finding the balance between church priorities and good business practices is a challenge for all church bookstores, and this tension particularly comes to the surface when deciding whether or not to keep the store open during worship.

Clearly, attendance at the worship service should be the No. 1 priority for those who are at the church Sunday morning. Nevertheless, there are significant reasons why keeping your bookstore open during worship might be beneficial.

I'm sure there are some stores that do not, but I would venture to say that most stores do offer some type of perk to their employees. The better question would be, "How much should I offer?"

Discounts vary from store to store and usually range between 10% and 30% off regularly priced merchandise. When dealing with sale merchandise, there is little or no discount offered.

Mississippi is revealed as the most religious state in the country, with 82% of the adult population saying that faith is "very important" in their lives, according to The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's recent "How Religious is Your State?" analysis of data from the 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

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Prov. 24:14, New International Version