The Global Publishers Alliance Story
July, 2006
Fourteen years ago, with the crumbling of the Communist government and the toppling of the Berlin wall, a handful of Christian publishing leaders grasped a strategic opportunity to get scripture back into the hands of ordinary Russians. Led by then President of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, Doug Ross, three major organizations pooled their energies and influence to launch what became The Moscow Project. Together, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, Christian Booksellers Association, and International Bible Society raised through their respective constituencies Four Hundred Thousand Dollars to print and distribute one million Russian language New Testaments in the former Soviet Union.
A light went on in the minds of several industry leaders. There may be several initiatives that can touch the spiritual hunger of various groups around the world that can best be accomplished through the collaborative efforts of the industry as a whole that may be beyond the reach of individual companies on their own.
From the success of the Moscow Project was born the idea of Evangelical Christian Publishers Outreach. Launched in 1993, ECPO became a vehicle for energizing and focusing the collective ministry efforts of members of ECPA outside of North America.
Over the ensuing years, ECPO / GPA has engaged in several major ministry initiatives including:
Through those early years of two steps forward, one back, it became steadily more apparent that ECPO was called to leverage the combined business expertise, economic horsepower and ministry motivation of the ECPA membership to encourage and resource the publishing of Christian content around the world – Particularly in those places where the business is especially difficult. Further, the call of ECPO and its successor, GPA became to develop sustaining publishing capabilities wherever we invested.
In the fall of 2004, a committee of the Board of the renamed Global Publishers Alliance met in Colorado Springs to re-visit the strategic direction of GPA. The consensus of the committee, later ratified by the full board, was that the compelling needs of the Christian publishing community outside of North America were three-fold. They were
It is the intent of the board of GPA that the operations of GPA be substantially underwritten by the member companies of ECPA or by events organized for this specific purpose. When GPA undertakes a fundraising activity focused on a specific initiative, the Board desires to see 100% of the funds raised go to that initiative. There should be no administrative charges levied on project funds raised by GPA.
We live in a time of huge opportunity to help create and develop the expansion of Christian content in some of the most needy and most difficult parts of the world to do business. We have established platforms in Asia, in the Arab world, and in Africa where training, information and networking may provide significant forward leaps in the availability of Christian content.
We have set a goal of making Christian content widely available in the world’s strategic languages by 2015. Those languages include. Chinese, Arabic, Spanish. The challenges are huge and the dangers are significant. The implications in terms of expansion of the Kingdom are stunning.
July, 2006
Fourteen years ago, with the crumbling of the Communist government and the toppling of the Berlin wall, a handful of Christian publishing leaders grasped a strategic opportunity to get scripture back into the hands of ordinary Russians. Led by then President of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, Doug Ross, three major organizations pooled their energies and influence to launch what became The Moscow Project. Together, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, Christian Booksellers Association, and International Bible Society raised through their respective constituencies Four Hundred Thousand Dollars to print and distribute one million Russian language New Testaments in the former Soviet Union.
A light went on in the minds of several industry leaders. There may be several initiatives that can touch the spiritual hunger of various groups around the world that can best be accomplished through the collaborative efforts of the industry as a whole that may be beyond the reach of individual companies on their own.
From the success of the Moscow Project was born the idea of Evangelical Christian Publishers Outreach. Launched in 1993, ECPO became a vehicle for energizing and focusing the collective ministry efforts of members of ECPA outside of North America.
Over the ensuing years, ECPO / GPA has engaged in several major ministry initiatives including:
- Providing in-depth consultation with Chinese Christian publishers in Hong Kong prior to the hand over from the UK to China. One major Hong Kong Christian publisher attributes their success in licensing American content and recent increased penetration into the mainland with ECPO’s early involvement.
- In collaboration with Tyndale House Publishers ECPO helped establish the start-up of Challenge Books in Nigeria – an established distributor of Christian content in Nigeria to this day.
- Helped via finances and consultation with the establishment of the Christian Publishers Association in Bulgaria. This has been one of the most significant developments in Christian publishing in the old East Block countries.
- For ten years, GPA has had a major part of the ongoing support of Magazine Training Institute under the leadership of Sharon Mumper. This also has contributed to the development of magazine publishing professionalism in Eastern Europe.
- In much of the world, bookselling and publishing are inextricable. GPA has provided significant support to the establishment of bookstores in the Middle East.
- In a precursor to ECPO, ECPA had a presence in the Soviet Union some years before President Reagan told Mr. Gorbachev to “tear down that wall.” The attendance of a couple of ECPA member house executives to the Moscow International Bookfair was supported before publishing Christian content in Russia, legally, was remotely possible, providing the platform for the Bible distribution program mentioned earlier.
Through those early years of two steps forward, one back, it became steadily more apparent that ECPO was called to leverage the combined business expertise, economic horsepower and ministry motivation of the ECPA membership to encourage and resource the publishing of Christian content around the world – Particularly in those places where the business is especially difficult. Further, the call of ECPO and its successor, GPA became to develop sustaining publishing capabilities wherever we invested.
In the fall of 2004, a committee of the Board of the renamed Global Publishers Alliance met in Colorado Springs to re-visit the strategic direction of GPA. The consensus of the committee, later ratified by the full board, was that the compelling needs of the Christian publishing community outside of North America were three-fold. They were
- Education and training
- Data and information exchange
- Connection & networking
- Four foreign publishers are being mentored by seasoned American publishing executives.
- The curriculum of Publishing University is being upgraded in a major step preliminary to adaptation to specific needs in other parts of the world.
- Scholarships to Editorial Training are being provided to four foreign publishers with an established publishing track record.
- The organization of a collective exhibit in Beijing is opening new channels of licensing to American houses.
- A major publishing, distribution, internet initiative to the Islamic world is under consideration.
It is the intent of the board of GPA that the operations of GPA be substantially underwritten by the member companies of ECPA or by events organized for this specific purpose. When GPA undertakes a fundraising activity focused on a specific initiative, the Board desires to see 100% of the funds raised go to that initiative. There should be no administrative charges levied on project funds raised by GPA.
We live in a time of huge opportunity to help create and develop the expansion of Christian content in some of the most needy and most difficult parts of the world to do business. We have established platforms in Asia, in the Arab world, and in Africa where training, information and networking may provide significant forward leaps in the availability of Christian content.
We have set a goal of making Christian content widely available in the world’s strategic languages by 2015. Those languages include. Chinese, Arabic, Spanish. The challenges are huge and the dangers are significant. The implications in terms of expansion of the Kingdom are stunning.