wfn.org | Publishing House adapts to congregations' changing needs

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 4, 2001  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{443}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - One size doesn't fit all if you're in the business
of providing resources for thousands of congregations inside and outside the
United Methodist Church.

The churches served by the United Methodist Publishing House are
increasingly diverse, and so are their expectations and goals. The old
approach of developing one product to meet the needs of most or all
congregations no longer works, Publishing House executives said during the
Oct. 1-3 session of the agency's governing members.

Church leaders and groups are becoming more self-directed and confident in
choosing resources that fit their situations, said Neil Alexander, president
and publisher. "More often than not, the one-size-fits-all approach is
simply not welcome."

Alexander and other staff executives described how the Publishing House is
adapting and developing new approaches to meet churches' needs. The
Nashville-based agency is forming closer relationships with congregations,
using outside talent to develop products and marketing outside products as
if they were created inside the Publishing House. At the same time, it is
broadening the capabilities of its own staff.
 
"Treating different congregations differently is really what it takes," said
Harriett Olson, senior vice president of the Publishing House and book
editor of the United Methodist Church. 

Using Christian education as an example, Olson said the old assumption was
that churches' objectives were similar enough that congregations could be
served by one core United Methodist curriculum. Increasingly, however, this
is not true, she said.

One congregation might say it wants to provide children a safe, fun place to
learn and to know Jesus loves them; another might say it wants to provide
them a foundation for a life of faith by teaching them to understand and
love the Bible; and a third might want to offer faith-based reinforcement of
a good value system, to equip children to be faithful and ethical, Olson
said.

The challenges became clear during a presentation on Vacation Bible school
materials by Susan Salley, director of new business development. The
Publishing House has worked on strengthening that line of business, and it's
learned a few lessons in the process. Among them: Congregations start with a
"clean slate" every year when it comes to choosing VBS materials; the
selection of materials based on denomination is less automatic than ever
before; a good year for a VBS product doesn't ensure that the congregation
will use that product the next year; and predicting the buying habits of new
and returning customers is hard.

Alexander, in his report, emphasized the importance of learning from and
walking forward with the congregations that the Publishing House serves.

The staff knows its ministry is "inextricably intertwined with the ebb and
flow of life in thousands of congregations," Alexander said. The agency must
interact with congregations to find "just the right pace" for them in terms
of providing resources related to Sunday school, outreach ministries, youth
groups, Bible study, fund-raising campaigns. 

He touched on four initiatives, some of them already familiar to board
members from previous meetings. The agency must:
7	Form closer and deeper relationships with its congregations and
other customers, and pay as much attention to what's happening outside the
Publishing House as within.
7	Give attention to the increasing number of quality product offerings
available to its customers. "We have to offer more," he said. This will
require relying more on research and finding low-cost ways to get
information; augmenting the development staff and forging partnerships with
outside developers of material; and finding and promoting products developed
by others.
7	Continue nurturing and developing employees, working across audience
and product lines to make the best use of skills.
7	Be in "relentless pursuit of operational efficiency." For example,
he said, "We spend $10 million shipping stuff around. We've got some choices
to make" about shipping.

Forming partnerships with outside developers of materials may seem "almost
sacrilegious," Alexander said. The Publishing House must do that in a way
that helps church leaders make wise and informed choices in light of their
own situations.

Around the meeting room, the board members saw evidence of the agency's
intention to market outside products more aggressively. For example, the new
"Companions in Christ" program, developed by the Upper Room unit of the
denomination's Board of Discipleship, was touted on large poster boards.

The Publishing House board approved a resolution authorizing Alexander to
form a separate corporation for a consortium that the Publishing House is
forming with other U.S. and Canadian publishers to produce curriculum. The
separate corporation is necessary to protect the Publishing House board's
assets should legal problems arise.

Despite a downturn in the economy and other challenges, the Publishing House
posted positive sales growth for the year ended July 31. Sales fell short of
the board's target by 2.2 percent, but still increased 3.4 percent, or $3.8
million, to nearly $116 million for the year ended July 31. 

The agency's full-service Cokesbury stores saw an 8.8 percent increase in
sales over the previous year. In same-store sales, Cokesbury outperformed
secular retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Waldenbooks,
according to figures presented by Ed Kowalski, senior vice president of
marketing and sales. Cokesbury's online businesses grew 141 percent, with
sales exceeding $2 million.

Net operating revenue, the Publishing House's bottom-line figure, was $2.7
million, up 39 percent from the previous year.

Despite a delay prompted by economic conditions, two new Cokesbury stores
opened in Atlanta and Orlando, Fla. A new Oklahoma City location will open
soon, bringing the chain to 47 full-service shops, in addition to 25
seminary stores.

In other business, the board:
7	Elected the Rev. Myron McCoy as chairman. McCoy succeeds Randy
Smith, who died of a heart attack May 8. McCoy is senior pastor of St. Mark
United Methodist Church in Chicago and has been on the board since 1992. 
7	Elected William Hatcher, a businessman from Statesboro, Ga., as vice
chairman. A former member of the General Council on Ministries, he is in his
first four-year term with the Publishing House board.
7	Remembered Smith in a memorial service held at Calvary United
Methodist Church and adopted a resolution honoring him.
7	Adopted a resolution honoring staff member Patricia Roddy, who died
Aug. 10. She had been at the Publishing House since 1969.
7	Elected the Rev. Jeffery L. Tribble Sr., a member of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, as the pan-Methodist representative to the
board.
7	Heard a report from Bishop Joe Pennel, a board member and leader of
the denomination's Richmond (Va.) Area, about his meeting Sept. 20 with
other religious leaders and President Bush (see UMNS story #420).
7	Learned that Pennel will be the convener of a multi-agency task
force that will shape a plan for managing pension funds on behalf of clergy
members in the denomination's central conferences. 
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