For Immediate Release — March 6, 2025

ECPA to honor the impact of Kay Arthur and Josh McDowell at upcoming Awards Celebration

Kay Arthur and Josh McDowell will each receive ECPA’s Pinnacle Award honoring their outstanding contributions to the industry, church, and society

The ECPA Awards Celebration will be held in Nashville on April 29 in conjunction with the industry’s Leadership Summit, and will include the presentation of the year’s Christian Book Award® winners

MARCH 6, 2025 | TEMPE, ARIZONA — The ECPA Awards Celebration will take place at the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel on Tuesday, April 29 during the ECPA Leadership Summit. The evening event will gather Christian publishing leaders to celebrate the industry’s best content and honor those who have contributed to excellence in Christian publishing.

Award-winning author and scholar Dr. Carolyn Weber will be the host for the evening. Weber is the author of the book “Surprised by Oxford” (Thomas Nelson) which inspired the recent movie by the same name, now available on many streaming platforms.

The event will feature several honors and celebrations, including:

The 2025 Christian Book Award® winners will be announced in twelve categories, including a pre-recorded presentation of the Christian Book of the Year® by last year’s recipient and New York Times bestselling author, Beth Moore.

The ECPA Pinnacle Award will be presented to Josh McDowell and to Kay Arthur in special recognition of the outstanding contribution of their body of work to the industry, church, and society at large.

“Each and every year it is an immense joy to be a part of celebrating with the ECPA publishing community as we present the Christian Book Awards in recognition of excellence in our field,” states ECPA president Jeff Crosby. “And this year, we have the distinct privilege of also recognizing two authors, Kay Arthur and Josh McDowell, whose lifetime of work has impacted tens of millions of readers including, no doubt, many of the people who will gather with us in Nashville.”

JOSH MCDOWELL has been at the forefront of cultural trends and groundbreaking ministry for more than 60 years. He shares the essentials of the Christian faith in everyday language so people of all ages and stages can know Christ, understand what they believe and why it is true. Through Josh McDowell Ministries, Josh and his team have created many cutting-edge live events that have reached approximately 46 million people in 139 countries. Josh has authored or co-authored 157 books among 20 publishers, with total sales of more than 70 million, translated into 128 languages.

He is best known for More Than a Carpenter (Tyndale House) with over 30 million copies distributed worldwide, and Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson) named by World Magazine as one of the twentieth century’s top 100 books. In 1991, ECPA presented the title with the Platinum Award for over 1 million sold. In 2009, ECPA presented More Than a Carpenter with their Diamond Milestone Sales Award for more than 10 million sold. Five of Josh’s books have won the ECPA Gold Medallion Award in their category (now known as the Christian Book Award® program). In 2018, ECPA presented the updated and expanded Evidence That Demands A Verdict with the Christian Book Award in Bible Reference.

Through more than 50 years of ministry, KAY ARTHUR has had one fervent passion: to equip God’s people to be firmly established in His Word. She founded Precept Ministries International, which has trained up more than 250,000 Bible study leaders and countless millions of participants in Precept Bible studies, which take people through God’s Word “precept upon precept.” Kay has spoken all over the world, including in Israel, India, Romania, Russia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Germany, Brazil, and South Africa. Precept Ministries International has a presence in nearly 190 countries and offers resources in 90 different languages.

Kay’s 100-plus books and Bible studies—including The New Inductive Study Bible—have sold more than 18.5 million copies worldwide, primarily in partnership with Harvest House Publishers and WaterBrook & Multnomah. Four of Kay’s books have received the ECPA Gold Medallion Award (now known as the Christian Book Award® program).

The milestone anniversaries of Christian publishers NavPress and Paraclete Press will be honored that evening as well: NavPress celebrates 50 years; and Paraclete Press just celebrated their 40-year anniversary.

Additionally, the industry’s Milestone Sales Awards will be recognized – for all titles that received Bronze, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Sales Awards in the past year – celebrating sales of 100,000, 500,000, 1 million, and 10 million.

This event is included with ECPA Leadership Summit attendee registration. Guest tickets are available for purchase.

ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) is an international non-profit trade organization comprised of member companies that are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian content worldwide. Since 1974, ECPA has strengthened Christian publishing by building networking, information, and advocacy opportunities within the industry and throughout multiple channels so that our members can more effectively produce and deliver transformational Christian content. ECPA.org

Media contacts:
Jeff Crosby, ECPA President and CEO, jcrosby@ecpa.org, 630-989-0222
Cindy Carter, ECPA Recognition Manager, ccarter@ecpa.org, 480-966-3998 x103

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