Crossway Partnering With Christian Retail To Reach a Million People With the Gospel This Christmas

Contact Angie Cheatham: 630-868-6043 or media@crossway.org.

June 11, 2009

WHEATON, IL (June 11, 2009)—Crossway Books & Bibles is partnering with Christian Retail stores and churches around the country to reach at least one million homes with hand-delivered packets that include a New Testament, a short tract about the meaning of Christmas, and an invitation to come to Christmas services. The Share the Good News of Christmas packets will retail for $1 apiece, sold in case lots of 50. Each packet includes an ESV Outreach New Testament Christmas Edition, a Christmas tract written by Max Lucado, a gift of 30 days of free access to the ESV Online Study Bible, and a customizable invitation to Christmas services or a special event at the participating church, all in a Christmas gift bag.

“The driving passion behind the Crossway Good News of Christmas neighborhood New Testament outreach program is to reach a massive number of people with the Gospel and God’s Word this Christmas,” said Lane Dennis, president of Good News & Crossway. “My prayer and my dream is that churches and Christian retailers would create a nationwide partnership to reach a million homes this Christmas. We can only begin to imagine what an amazing impact for eternity this could have – if tens of thousands would come to know Christ as their Savior this Christmas as a result of this partnership in the Gospel.”

Following in the footsteps of previous CBA Christian Retail channel exclusives, Share the Good News of Christmas provides an opportunity for stores to break new ground in relationships with churches. “We see this as having enormous potential for CBA member stores,” said CBA President and CEO, Bill Anderson. “And we’re hoping that Christian Retail stores will use their mailing lists, the telephone, and personal visits to key churches to start connecting with churches in their communities in July and August so that Sharing the Good News of Christmas can become a key part of thousands of church’s outreach programs this Christmas season, brought to them by their local Christian retailer.”

Crossway has already started promoting the Share the Good News of Christmas program to churches through various media and social networking sites as well as at numerous pastor’s conferences, pointing them toward their local Christian retailer to purchase the bags. According to Amy Stephansen, Crossway Marketing Manager, Christian retailers can take advantage of a number of resources available on the CBA website to connect with potential church customers. “Retailers will find resources for selling the kits to church accounts such as artwork for postcards, a Max Lucado video, and other sales materials and strategies at www.cbaonline.org. We hope Christian retailers will take advantage of these resources—even in the heat of the summer when Christmas seems far away—to begin making churches aware of this tremendous resource for reaching into their community.”

Numerous Christian Retail organizations are already engaged and making plans for how they will make the most of the program. Chuck Wallington, president of Christian Supply and Covenant Group, has drawn up a target list of churches in his area to call on regarding Share the Good News of Christmas. “We're excited about this opportunity. Not only does it allow us, as Christian retailers, to offer a budget-conscious, effective program to local churches, but it also places the very best book possible, God's Word, into the hands of people during the Christmas season,” said Wallington. “We plan to give this major emphasis in the early Fall, in plenty of time for churches to consider the plan and make a decision to participate.”

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