wfn.org | New Curriculum's "Rocky Road" Looking Smoother

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Note #5946 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

22-June-2000
GA001

	New Curriculum's "Rocky Road" Looking Smoother

	Deficit persists, but sales and standing orders are growing rapidly

	by Jerry L. Van Marter

LONG BEACH, Calif. --The new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) curricula --
"Covenant People," "The Present Word" and "Bible Quest" -- are selling very
well despite a host of financial and management problems that plagued the
development and initial marketing of the new materials.

	What Congregational Ministries Division (CMD) director the Rev. Don
Campbell called at  the division committee's meeting June 21 is  "still a 
rocky road" now appears passable, new publisher Sandra Moak Sorem told the
Presbyterian News Service.  "Long term it looks very good," Sorem said.  "I
feel very encouraged – I believe it's possible to produce and distribute
this curriculum to churches within the financial parameters set by the
General Assembly Council."

	Sorem, who assumed the new position of CMD Associate Director of Resource
Publishing eight weeks ago after serving for many years as head of the
denomination's Mission Interpretation and Promotion Office, insisted that
she doesn't want to paint a "Pollyanna-ish" picture of the financial woes
and struggles still ahead for the curriculum enterprise.

	Accrued development, marketing and production costs are running higher than
budgeted, meaning that the projected deficit for 2000 is now $240,000.  At
the beginning of the year, the projected shortfall for the year was
$100,000.

	And about 25 percent (33 of 129) of the individual curriculum items have
turned out to be priced at lower than their cost, so their success is
actually a money-loser.  Sorem said the underpricing occurred "when
decisions were made by folk based on what they wanted congregations to have
to pay for the materials rather than what they actually cost to produce." 
If they sell out, the 33 items will comprise $70,000 of the projected
deficit.

	Sorem said the underpricing problem will be rectified in 2001 when lower
production costs will raise those items above break-even.

	And many of the indicators are positive for the long-term success of the
new curriculum.

	At the end of May, sales of the new curricula were running $96,000 ahead of
budget for the year.  More importantly, standing orders -- the key to
churches' acceptance of new materials and commitment to use them for the
foreseeable future -- grew an astounding 500 percent between the end of May
and mid-June, from $106,000 to $744,000.

	Sorem, who has a reputation as a hard-nosed manager, said the outlook for
2001 -- "year two" for the new curriculum -- looks good because the cost of
reprinting sold out materials will be less than the development cost-loaded
initial print runs.

	She also praised the "close working relationship" between CMD and the
Mission Support Services staff, which is enabling the closer monitoring of
income and cost figures.

	And with the curricula being well-received by those who have seen it
already, Sorem said the greatest immediate challenge is "to make these
materials more accessible to Presbyterians in the pews.  This is a profound
new thing for the people of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)."

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