July 16, 2024
The Role of Christian Bookstores in Spreading Religious Literature Nobody can deny the fact that Amazon and the changes in people’s buying habits and book consumption have had a significant impact on retailers in general, and Christian bookstores and Christian book distributors, in particular. These developments also have had an equal impact on Christian publishing, which has been exacerbated by the loss of a substantial number of land-based Christian retail bookstores. This is according to Stan Jantz, CEO, and president of the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association). The leading Delaware Christian Bookstore, Saving Grace Christian Bookstore, is no exception as it has also been affected by the situation. The Delaware Christian Bookstore, however, still thrives to this day because of the significant role it plays in disseminating Christian literature to the community as there is still high demand for Christian books and religious literature written by Christian authors. The Growing Demand for Christian Books and Religious Literature Today Christian books and faith-based literature are bright spots in the publishing business as a whole. The AAP (Association of American Publishers) announced sometime in 2016 that books with religious and inspirational themes were among the best-selling books from both religious and trade publishers. Religious presses, imprints focusing on spirituality, Christianity religion, and faith, gained 6.9% to $1.13 billion from 2015 to 2016, according to the group. Books that highlighted values, simple living, or featured encouraging bible phrases, healing scriptures, and inspiring messages, such as The Magnolia Story, Present Over Perfect, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and Uninvited, were among the most popular in 2016. This is according to Tina Jordan, APA's vice president of trade publishing. The same trend continued from 2017 to 2018, with religious presses garnering 4.5% revenue growth, and according to the most recent AAP StatShot, religious presses led the field with an 8.1% increase in sales in the following year, compared to the industry's loss of -3.2%. That said, Christian book distributors and publishers are expanding, with some seeing years of tremendous growth. This is also true for the Delaware Christian bookstores like Saving Grace Christian Bookstore. The Delaware Christian bookstore is enjoying traction among the young generation of readers today with Christian authors like Sarah Young, Rachel Hollis, Lysa TerKeurst, and Bob Groff, among others. Their Christian books show, instead of telling people how their faith can help them navigate through an ever-increasing secular culture. Their books are well-accepted not only in the Christian books market but also in bestseller lists and the general market. The Rising Importance of the Delaware Christian Bookstore According to Pew Research, despite the unfortunate fact that the number of adults attending religious services regularly has been on a decline, three-quarters of Americans identify with Christianity, the religion, according to the most recent Gallup poll. Surveys say that nearly 40% of Americans (39% according to Pew and 37% according to Gallup) are classified as "very religious." This translates to slightly under 100 million individual Americans. One distinguishing feature of these deeply religious Americans is that they are avid readers of Christian books as well as devout believers. "Seven in ten extremely religious people think that reading the Bible or other religious texts, including poems on religion is crucial to their religious identity," according to reports from Pew. This is the type of minimally viable audience described by Seth Godin in his latest book, “This is Marketing.” It's a large enough audience to make it worthwhile to reach out to, yet small and unique enough that marketing messages resonate and are appreciated. It is becoming increasingly crucial in every field of marketing to be able to filter a message to a minimally viable audience," Squires says. Although Christian book distributors serve a potentially engaged clientele, they are underserved. According to the Parable Group's analysis, there are at least 100 markets with 50,000 inhabitants that do not have a bookstore that sells the Bible and other Christian books within an hour's drive. Squires sees an increasing possibility for Christian book distributors and publishers from his vantage point. Christians are a passionate population, and they can be passionate, devoted clients for an independent Delaware Christian bookstore like Saving Grace Christian Bookstore. The Delaware Christian bookstore loves people and people love books. Saving Grace Christian Bookstore is passionate about its mission and the influence it may have when someone walks in looking for Christian books, healing scriptures, or encouraging Bible verses to help them spiritually. It's a meaningful relationship that occurs every day between the Delaware Christian bookstore and the community.