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Friday 4th September 2009- Day of Prayer for UK Christian Book Trade
In response to increasing difficulties in the UK Christian Book Trade, a 'Call to Prayer' has been issued.
Many Christians have grown to accept a local Christian Bookshop as a typical part of the landscape. However, over recent years, this presence has been rapidly diminishing as bookshop after bookshop has succumbed to a series of pressures. A general decline in book reading, although less pronounced in the 'Christian' population rather than the general population, has resulted in a declining market over a number of years. These years have also seen the rise of the internet, with many Christian purchasers simply going 'online' to buy their books from the cheapest internet retailer. Into this declining market, increasing High Street costs and upward pressure on other costs have squeezed margins to the point that many shops have simply been unable to carry on, despite great financial and personal sacrifices from the owners- often sole traders. The recent recession has further harmed the trade, and some major distributors are struggling to maintain their service to the Bookshops.
We are greatly blessed that the GLO Bookshop has the privilege of being on a sound financial footing, and thanks is due to those in previous years who have invested faith, prayer and much hard work to put us in this position. However, we recognise the current significant danger. Should these situations continue, the 'local Christian Bookshop' as we know it could easily become a thing of the past, with serious consequences for the resourcing of local churches, and Christian witness on the 'High Streets' of our towns and cities.
Could we please ask you to pray!
- Pray that God will help the staff & volunteers in Christian Bookshops. They are often acting as a 'front-line' for the church in an increasingly secular society. Each week, many fruitful conversations lead people to Christ, help direct & comfort struggling Christians and provide a great resource for local churches.
- The main product line in these Bookshops is, of course, the Bible. Pray that God will use the free availability of His Word on the High Street as an effective channel of witness.
- Bookshops realise that they work in a competitive retail environment, and seek to provide excellence in all they do. Pray that they will be helped as they seek to serve customers day by day, providing advice, direction and resources in many ways.
- Please pray that Christians will feel led to support their local Christian bookshops in prayer and by their custom. Perhaps we need to recognise that the support of a 'High Street' service does result in extra costs to them- but also results in significant benefit to the work & witness of the Church.
- We are also reminded that in other parts of the world, workers in Christian literature suffer serious persecution. In recent years, some have been martyred, and some imprisoned. Please pray for our brothers & sisters who suffer in this way.
If you, or your church, were able to spend some time in prayer on this day, then you would be joining Christians throughout Britain. We appreciate your interest, and seek your prayers as the Holy Spirit leads you.
'So we fasted & petitioned our Lord about this, and He answered our prayer' Ezra 3:23 (NIV)
About 'The Bookshop'
We hope you find our website helpful and easy to use. However, the web pages only show feature titles from the (almost!) 43,000 items we have on our Stock File. And that is just the beginning! Through a variety of wholesalers in the UK and other countries we should be able to obtain just about any book currently in print, or any other media items currently available to the retail trade. Contact us or call in to see…………..
-Excellent range of Bibles in many different versions & bindings
-Childrens Books - Christian Educational - Childrens resources
- Huge range of Christian Books
-Computer Software - Puppet resources
- Gift Section - Fair Trade products
- Cards - Stationary- Verse Cards
- Evangelism resources - Youth resources
- Rare & Out of Print Book Sourcing
PLUS
Book Agents Facility
Sale or Return for Special events
Discounts for Bible College students
New Partnership facility for churches
Discounts for Sunday school prizes and libraries
Speedy search & order for theological and academic books
Quantity discounts for song books, Bibles etc
Please ask for details!
A bit of History
In 1973 Robert Kilpatrick, the first UK GLO mission worker, had the vision of holding a Christmas bookstall for a month in an empty shop in nearby Hamilton. In those days there was no Christian bookshop anywhere in the whole of Lanarkshire. Sales were so encouraging that a lease was signed on the property for a permanent bookshop.
In 1974, an unused large church and ancillary buildings in Motherwell became available for development as the UK headquarters of GLO and to house the mission administration offices, college and bookshop. As a result the bookshop moved to its present location in the centre of Motherwell. Subsequently a coffee shop and 350-seater auditorium have been developed.
| Since 1974 the bookshop turnover has grown steadily necessitating several refits and extensions, the most recent in 2000 when an additional 30% of retailing area was created and the whole shop tastefully refurbished. In 2002, the bookshop won the prestigious 'Christian Booksellers Association Large Bookshop of the Year' Award - and we can't resist showing you the picture of former manager Geoff Ruston with Marion Mathers & Helen Dempsey! |  |
We continue a process of improvement, constantly looking for new ways to help you spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in a relevant and challenging way. We appreciate your visit to our website and we would love to welcome you to the bookshop! Each week new books come in, new music & resources arrive, new special offers become available and you will often meet old friends browsing around.
Over the years, the shop has acquired a reputation for friendly and efficient service. Our wide range of stock and product (we hope!) justifies our 'tag-line' as
Scotland's Leading Independent Christian Resource Centre
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