LifeWay has recently announced several changes to their retail store approach. Eric Geiger, LifeWay’s Chief Business Officer, explains:
“Because of our commitment to our stores we are transforming how we work internally. We are doing this so we can better serve the Church in Her mission of making disciples and better help believers who come into our stores navigate their faith journeys. There are two approaches that capture the changes we have made and are making:
Vertical Integration: For years LifeWay had a team of people who created resources and a different team of people who curated resources in our stores. For example, there was a Bible team who created Bibles and a different team who curated Bibles in our stores. We now have one team for each audience, which allows for greater collaboration, synergy, and the marrying of expertise in content with experience of leading a store’s operation. Already, just a few months into vertical integration, the combined teams are creating workshops and other events that we are testing in stores and seeing customers engage these new opportunities—opportunities that serve multiple audiences with resources from a variety of publishers and messages.
Brick and Mortar Transformation: Having over 170 store environments means we can test a lot of things at one time in different stores. The early results from face-out curation in books, face-out curation with greater depth of workbooks in Bible studies, resources exclusive to LifeWay stores, strategic product giveaways, and inviting different audiences to our stores that our ministry areas have invested years in building and serving have all been encouraging and are moving us forward with many more tests on the horizon.
The team I lead is grateful for the past, for the leaders and partners who built a system we are enjoying, one that allows LifeWay to serve more than 40,000 people a day through our stores. That type of organization, structure, and rhythm of daily execution does not happen overnight and I did not build it. Others who came before me labored to build it and I am thankful for their work. Our gratitude for them compels us to look to the future.
We are also thankful for the publishers and vendors who have partnered with LifeWay Christian Stores over the years and look forward to a continued and sustainable future together. But even more than focusing on the future of our respective organizations, we are compelled by those moments when we can help a believer in their faith journey and know that is what must pull us all into the future.
Because of those moments and others like them, our team is committed to our stores. The resources we sell in our stores are in other channels too, channels we own and others we don’t, but we know the experience of a Christian brick and mortar environment has the potential to be unique and particularly helpful to the people we serve.”
WESTMONT, IL— James W. Sire, longtime editorial director at InterVarsity Press (IVP), prolific author, and groundbreaking apologist, passed away
Born at a ranch on the rim of the Nebraska Sandhills, Sire served as an officer in the Army, a professor of English literature, philosophy, and theology, and a lecturer at over two hundred universities in the United States, Canada, Eastern and Western Europe, and Asia. He received a PhD in English from the University of Missouri, an MA in English from Washington State University, and a BA in chemistry and English from the University of Nebraska.
Eugene, Oregon—February 8, 2018—Harvest House Publishers is pleased to announce it has moved its main operations to a new facility in northeast Eugene.
With company warehouse operations relocated from Eugene to a centralized distribution facility in Wisconsin, Harvest House had been searching for an ideal office location that is more in line with the specific needs of the company. After careful evaluation of the available options, the Chad Drive location was chosen.
About the Publisher:
Hollywood, Calif. – “An inspiring, beautiful story about love” (Dave Morales, Fox TV Houston), SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME arrives on Blu-ray and DVD February 20, 2018 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The film arrives on Digital February 6, 2018.
Ada, Mich. (February 9, 2018)—Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals (Baker Books; ISBN 9780801075254;Hardcover; $24.99) by Michael Hyatt has landed on multiple Bestsellers lists since its release in January.
(Nashville, TN) February 9, 2018—Today, Thomas Nelson announced Denise George as its new vice president of marketing for the W Publishing Group. George will report to W Publishing vice president and publisher, Daisy Blackwell Hutton, and will work closely with Hutton to develop both short and long-term publishing and business strategies for the imprint.
Grand Rapids, MI – February 9, 2018 – In his debut book, The IF in Life: How to Get Off Life’s Sidelines and Become Your Best Self, former NFL running back and Dancing with the Stars Season 24 champion, Rashad Jennings, shares his inspiring story, imparts practical advice, and encourages readers to follow their dreams.
Uhrichsville, OH—February 4, 2018 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of beloved author, poet, songwriter, and Moody Bible Institute alumni, Frances J. Roberts (1918–2009). Born on February 4, 1918, Roberts is best known for her classic devotional, Come Away My Beloved (Barbour Publishing). Roberts also authored eight other books, selling over 1.5 million copies, and published 88 hymns during her lifetime.
Orlando, Fla. (January 31, 2018): In God’s providence, Dr. R.C. Sproul’s last monthly letter to friends of Ligonier Ministries was an encouragement to pray earnestly for awakening: “It’s easy to be afraid these days. We’re living in a land which has turned its back on God and His law. We can feel as if we’re in a shrinking minority of truth-tellers who love Christ and His Word. We can feel like there’s nothing we can do. As I have studied the Scriptures and the work of God’s Spirit throughout history, I know there is something we can do– we can pray for awakening.”
Minneapolis (January 30, 2018) – Children’s book publisher Sparkhouse Family has rebranded as Beaming Books. A business unit of 1517 Media, Sparkhouse Family was launched in 2014 as a publisher of Bibles and religious books for children. Under the new name, Beaming Books will publish high-quality books for children in both religious and non-religious categories.




