Title: ELCA Publisher Expects Positive Financial Results For 2006 ELCA NEWS SERVICE
October 26, 2006
ELCA Publisher Expects Positive Financial Results For 2006 06-159-JB
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was told that the publisher expects to finish the 2006 fiscal year in the black for the first time in several years. A factor is the higher-than-expected number of early orders of the pew edition of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, a new primary worship resource for the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The board met here Oct. 20-21.
The new worship book, the result of a five-year plan to renew worship in the ELCA, became available to the public Oct. 3. Staff of Augsburg Fortress and the ELCA churchwide organization, plus contributors, artists, editors, reviewers and volunteers were significant players in the project to introduce new ELCA worship resources.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship will influence the publisher's financial fortunes for 2006, said John Rahja, chief financial officer, in his report to the board. Through August the company recorded an overall $2.5 million net loss, he said. That loss is expected to be made up by year's end, and the company expects to have an income surplus, Rahja said. Strong overall sales, coupled with orders of nearly 588,000 copies of the pew edition of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, are expected to propel Augsburg Fortress into the black for 2006, he said.
Orders of the pew edition exceed availability for 2006, and the company will carry a backlog of orders for the pew edition into 2007, Rahja said.
Any income over expenses will be reinvested into development of new ministry resources for the ELCA and ecumenical partners, said Beth A. Lewis, Augsburg Fortress president and chief executive officer, in her written report to the board.
The publisher is also experiencing significant sales through its Web store, Lewis said. Through September 2006, sales of company products through its Web site are $5.6 million, up $1.2 million over the same period in 2005, and nearly $4.2 million over Web sales for the same period in 2002.
There is significant interest in recently introduced Augsburg Fortress Web-based resources aimed at faith formation, worship planning, preaching and confirmation, said Bill Huff, publisher, congregational life and learning, Augsburg Fortress.
Online offerings, new within the previous 18 months, are available on a subscription basis to individuals and congregations:
+ NewProclamation.com is a resource for help in preparing sermons. The service was introduced in July, and there are almost 600 subscribers.
+ SundaysandSeasons.com is an online worship planner, through which congregations can download worship content to print in the weekly worship bulletin or project on a screen in worship. There are some 1,900 congregations subscribed. The site houses most content for Evangelical Lutheran Worship online.
+ HereWeStandConfirmation.com is an online confirmation series with more than 2,300 subscribers. "The Lutheran Handbook," a popular title for students, was published as part of this series and resulted in several spin-off products for Lutheran and ecumenical markets. Lewis also reported The Lutheran Handbook was translated into traditional Chinese this past summer.
+ Akaloo.com was developed in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is a lifelong faith formation series for all ages. A congregational membership enables all members to access the service at church and at home. Some 500 congregations have signed up.
The four online services have generated some $2.5 million in revenue for Augsburg Fortress, Huff said. The Web-based resources give the ELCA publisher a way to "leverage our edge" with such resources in a way that other denominations and competitors cannot, Lewis said.
Board focuses on technology, strategic business planning
Lewis expanded on the publisher's use of technology in her report to the board. A challenge the company faces is responding to opportunities to "proclaim the gospel" using technology, she said. "We think this is where the church is going in communication," Lewis said.
A second challenge is responding to requests for what Lewis called "just in time" and "just what I want" publishing. Examples she cited were resources available by print-to-order and print-on-demand, downloadable resources and resources in languages other than English. A third challenge is developing publishing partnerships with other church denominations and ethnic groups.
Augsburg Fortress must continue to invest in improving its use of technology and communicate externally with constituents through e-mail and Web-based seminars or "Webinars," Lewis said. It must also offer technology training for staff and customers, she said.
Lewis said she isn't sure where the company's use of technology and new partnerships will take it. "The good news is we have Jesus walking with us," she said.
In introducing a strategic business planning session, Lewis asked the trustees to help the publisher's staff "think ahead three years," so the company can move beyond being merely stable to prosperous, she said.
She reported staff morale has been lifted by the company's continuing improvements in performance. "A lot of it has to do with (company) culture and believing in ourselves," Lewis said. "We have come a long way." She also credited "partners in ministry" for sticking with Augsburg Fortress.
But with success Lewis told the board she worries about staff burnout. "We have pushed them hard, and they have performed magnificently," she said, adding that she worries most about those "who toil in obscurity."
The company's greatest opportunity is in its Web-based subscription products, and its greatest threat is a competitor that could outdo Augsburg Fortress in a particular category of sales, Lewis said.
For the future, the company has begun thinking about the possibility of a new name, and it has engaged a firm to help the ELCA publisher begin exploring a possible name change. Also the company's lease on its office space here will end in 2010, Lewis reported.
The board divided into small groups and spent most of a day reviewing a proposed strategic business plan.
The board adopted a strategic business plan for 2007 to 2009. It also adopted a $44.5 million sales plan for 2007.
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Information about Augsburg Fortress is at http://www.augsburgfortress.org on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog