Chestnut Hill Store on the Move to Cedarbrook Plaza!

2012 Issue No. 2
www.clcusa.org
Chestnut Hill Store on the Move to
Cedarbrook Plaza!
Bookstore on the Move
Relocation of Chestnut Hill store pg. 3
CLC Council
Making the Message Global pg. 6
Myanmar
No Obstacle too Great pg. 14
Keith Beale
Finances and Marketing
INTERNATIONAL
CLC World is published four
times per year by CLC Ministries International, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington, PA 19034, a non-profit
organization meeting literature
needs around the world since
1941.
© 2010 CLC Ministries International, Inc. No part of this
periodical may be reproduced
electronically or in print without permission. We welcome
your comments. Email us at
[email protected].
CLC U.S.A. is part of an interdenominational faith mission
working in over 58 countries
on six continents and is a member of The Mission Exchange
(formerly EFMA).
FINANCIAL POLICY
This multi-ethnic ministry involves approximately 1,000
people of different nationalities
who, by faith, trust God to supply their needs. Gifts received
for projects are used as designated. Gifts given in excess of
project funding needs will be
designated to similar projects.
Proceeds from book sales are
used in the extension of the
work
worldwide—opening
and developing bookshops and
mobile ministries as well as
publishing and distributing literature in many languages. Audited annual financial reports
are available upon request from
our office. Subscriptions to
CLC World are free. The average cost for publication and
mailing for one year is $5.00.
CLC Ministries International
701 Pennsylvania Ave.
P.O. BOX 1449
Fort Washington, PA 19034
215-542-1242
www.clcusa.org
FINANCE: Now that we just
closed our fiscal year, I want to
share how the Lord has blessed
our financial picture in several
ways this year, in spite of the
continual economic challenges
surrounding us. Our sales declined only 3% in the stores and only
slightly in publishing. At the same time, our sales of e-books has
grown significantly. This is a particular blessing compared to the
more dramatic decline we saw in the past few years and many
secular and Christian bookstores recently going out of business.
We were finally able to sell our missionary house in Somers
Point. These funds enabled us to pave our roads at the headquarters
campus after many years of deterioration. In addition, the funds
helped CLC close our books in the black for the first time in
several years. Also this year, we renegotiated lower store leases in
both Northfield and Moorestown and found a great new location
for the Chestnut Hill store at a much more affordable cost.
MARKETING: We continue to strive to improve the timeliness
and effectiveness of our e-marketing efforts, and integrating newly
available tools that are designed to help us reach more people with
our resources and services through social networking sites such
as Facebook and Twitter. We have sent over 1.5 million emails
promoting products available in our retail stores and on CLC
e-commerce sites and offered online registration for seven CLC
events, including the Annual Fund-Raising Banquet, resulting in
the largest attendance of this event in recent memory. This year
we also began sending a combined weekly email newsletter to our
e-commerce customers and retail store customers, resulting in
increased customer traffic across the board.
Each store has now launched its own Facebook fan page,
resulting in more effective promotion and participation in local
store events. We are marketing our current authors and planning
videos that can be played on our websites so readers can get a
better feel for the author and the book.
As we move forward, the marketing team will focus on
helping each store create a marketing program that is tailored
to their community of customers, while continuing to develop
a multichannel approach to reaching all of our customers with
the same message, regardless of how they purchase our products
and services.
In this issue...
3-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16
..... Philadelphia Store on the Move
..... Making the Message Global
..... Innovation and Excellence in Panama
..... Faithfully Soldiering On in Central Asia
..... A Link in the Chain - Christian BookLink Update
..... Myanmar - No Obstacle too Great
..... We Need You - Ways to Partner with CLC USA
Philadelphia Store on the Move
OPENING JUNE 1
CLC Bookcenter @ Cedarbrook Plaza!!
By Jim Pitman
A
fter 20 wonderful years of ministry in our current location in Chestnut Hill, PA, CLC is
moving back to the mall it came from—Cedarbrook Plaza in Wyncote at the Easton Road
exit off Highway 309. The new location provides easy access to those coming by car, and
the convenience of a bus stop in the shopping center for those depending on public transport.
With other stores like Walmart, Pathmark and Ross, the shopping center is a major shopping
attraction in the area. Other benefits will include a lower sales tax rate of six percent!
When the store first moved to Chestnut Hill in 1992, it was to a small 2,000-square-foot space
in what was then an English Tudor-style village shopping plaza. The new location was difficult
to find for many of our customers, as the shopping center was behind a large apartment complex
and was surrounded by narrow city streets.
lara
C
t
Bor
and
ine
a L
Despite that challenge and the slow deterioration
of the mall itself, God blessed the efforts of the
team led by veteran missionaries Clara Bort and
Lorna Line. These dear ladies showed the love
of God in unique and demonstrative ways to
customers every day that they worked. People
shopping in the store would often comment
that there seemed to be a special presence of
the Lord in the shop, and would seek out Clara
and Lorna for both their knowledge of books
and for a word of encouragement or prayer.
n
Lor
In 1996, young missionaries Dave
Almack and Jim Pitman joined the
team and brought their youthful
energy and enthusiasm to the
committed team. Two years later,
with a major renovation of the mall,
the Lord allowed the store to expand
to nearly 3500 square feet, giving
CLC the space necessary to provide
new products including provision of
church supplies and Sunday school
materials.
2009 G
ospelfe
st
Kevin
Walke
r
In 2002, the store expanded again
under the management of Dave
Almack to over 6,000 square feet and
many new gift items and church supply
resources were added. The spaciousness
of the store allowed for a stage to be
built into the store for concerts and an
expanded children’s area was added as
well. Most of the major Gospel artists
in the industry performed at one time
or another in the store and many major
events were held in the bookstore itself
including training workshops often led
by store manager Kevin Walker who
next took over the reins of the shop.
Dav
e A
lmac
k
and
Jim
ill Store
Chestnut H
Pitm
an
The late 1990s and early 2000s
brought a flurry of exciting gospel
music events with artists like Kirk
Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Fred
Hammond, CeCe Winans and
many more. Nationally-known
authors like Liz Curtis Higgs,
Juanita Bynum and Sharon ElwellFoster came through our doors for
book signings that attracted many
new customers. Gospelfest was
birthed on the lawn in front of
the bookstore; there were Gospel
Poetry Slams, VBS workshops,
pastor’s breakfasts and many other
activities. CLC Bookcenter became
known as a place where there was
always something going on.
Chestnut Hill Store
As the 20-year anniversary of our time in
Chestnut Hill approaches, we have much
to thank God for and many blessings
to remember. Among many wonderful
memories are the thousands of Bibles that
have been distributed and the stories of
countless lives that have been touched.
Prayers have been answered and people have
come to know Christ as Lord for the first
time in the bookstore.
Map from Chestnut Hill store to
the new Cedarbrook Plaza store
CLC Cedarbrook Plaza Store
1000 Easton Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
215-242-4790 / 215-887-4500
We trust that our move back to Cedarbook
Plaza will allow CLC to weather the current
economic climate and also help us meet the
changing needs of those who come through
our doors. May the Lord continue to find
us faithful in fulfilling the mission He has
given us: “To Make Christian literature
available to all nations, so that people may
come to faith and maturity in the Lord
Jesus Christ.”
Reflections from the CLC International
Council Meetings in Panama
Making the
Message Global
F
or over 70 years, CLC
It is exciting to see that
many CLC countries are
taking advantage of the
new tools to help their
customers find the resources
they need.
By Dave Almack
has been focused on making evangelical
Christian literature available to the nations so
that people may come to faith and maturity
in the Lord Jesus Christ. This past March,
nearly 40 CLC leaders from all over the world
converged on Panama City to wrestle with the
new challenges and opportunities presented
by the growth of e-books and social media.
Never before has so much Christian content
been available so quickly and so inexpensively
in large parts of the western world. However
for many who live in other parts of the globe,
the digital divide is looming larger than ever
and e-books seem like a distant reality. While
the Internet may be flattening the world and
making content easier to find than ever before,
access to Christian books can still be a great
challenge in developing nations.
It is exciting to see that many CLC countries
are taking advantage of the new tools to help
their customers find the resources they need.
CLC Italy, as an example, has taken the lead
in utilizing social media to promote their
website and the availability of high-quality
Christian resources in the Italian language.
So far they have produced over 70 YouTube
videos, maintain an active ministry blog and
present information on Facebook on a regular
basis. As a result, hundreds of people from all
over the world are coming to their website to
find the items they need in a language they can
understand.
Some teams are quite small and find the
International Council meetings (that are
only held once every four years) to be a time
of significant learning and encouragement.
Carlos Cunha is the leader of CLC’s smallest
team and is the only fulltime member of CLC
in Portugal. He is supported by an active and
engaged board and a good group of volunteers.
In addition to his normal daily schedule at the
bookstore in Coimbra, he also regularly does
book tables for major Christian events all over
the country.
As the CLC leaders seek to serve the Lord
in this digital age, they do so refreshed and
revitalized by their time together in a country
at the center of the world.
Today, the Panama team is operating four
bookstores—three in the Panama City area
and one in the City of David.
Innovation and
Excellence in CLC
Panama
By David Almack
N
ot that many years ago, Gerardo Scalante
(now CLC’s Regional Director for the
Americas) stood in the midst of the smoldering
ruins of what had been the CLC bookstore in
downtown Panama City after a devastating fire.
From that moment of crisis, the Panama team
responded with tenacity and perseverance and
saw God bless their efforts. Out of the ashes of
that awful event was forged a group of people
who were determined to make Christian books
and Bibles more available than ever before.
Today, the Panama team operates four
bookstores—three in the Panama City area
and one in the City of David. The main store
in the heart of Panama City is one of the largest
Spanish-language bookstores in Latin America
and is providing resources to the rapidly
growing evangelical church. Pastors can find
almost any Spanish book or Bible in this wellstocked store and will be served by passionate
and service-oriented young people. The store
represents Christian retailing excellence in all
aspects and is honoring to the Lord it serves.
Something unique in the CLC World is the
fact that the CLC Panama team operates a
beautiful store in the Albrook Mall. This mall
is the largest in all of Central America and is
bustling with people from morning till night.
In the midst of this busy place is an oasis of
peace at the CLC store where people can find
the help that they need and the resources that
will guide them on their spiritual journey. It
is a true ministry center that attracts believers
and non-believers alike to learn about the lifetransforming power of the Word of God.
To God’s glory, hundreds of people come
through the doors of CLC stores in Panama
and are strengthened in their faith and some
even meet the Savior for the very first time.
Faithfully
Soldiering on
By Mark Ridenour
one person and badly injuring others), stole
anything of value, and severely vandalized the
property. They attacked one or two evangelical
Christian sites every week and the authorities
seemed to be more interested in checking
the churches’ permits than in catching the
criminals. The attacks went on for months,
with dozens of churches being victimized, so
they had to resort to having their members
stand guard all night. Then one day the
CLC store manager noticed some young men
he didn’t recognize in the shop. Three days
later he saw those same young men on TV,
among those finally arrested for the attacks
on evangelical churches and organizations!
Apparently they had been checking out the
bookstore as a future target, but God put an
end to their attacks on His people!
T
his nation has for decades been one of
the poorest in the world, and of course all
the chaos has made their economy even worse,
with the price of household goods increasing
by 50% in 12 months. Sales at the bookstore
have therefore declined in real terms, which has
made it very difficult to purchase needed stock.
Note: For security reasons we cannot identify the country where this store is located.
T
he CLC bookstore in this remote nation
has been described by the respected
missions handbook Operation World as a key to
meeting the great need for Christian literature
there. Though more than 90% of the people
are Muslims and only 1% are evangelical
Christians, it is the latter group that is growing
the fastest. There are dozens of churches which
are large enough to own their own building
in the city where the store is located, yet the
CLC shop is the only place to buy Christian
literature in this entire nation of more than five
million people.
I
n recent years this land has been convulsed
by violence, some of which was horrific
ethnic cleansing. Thousands were killed, many
of whom were burned alive and hundreds of
women were raped as an intentional means of
terror. Some of the violence was close enough
that the store manager heard gunfire near his
home. Yet through it all the Lord sustained
the faithful CLC team there and they were able
to keep the bookstore open every day! They
depended on the Lord’s protection amidst all
the violence, but they also kept their rear exit
door unlocked, in case they needed to make a
quick getaway.
B
esides all the turmoil in the nation in
general, there has also been violence
directed specifically against Christians. A gang
of more than a dozen young men targeted
local evangelical churches and Christian
organizations. At night they broke in, savagely
beat anyone who happened to be there (killing
in Central Asia
T
he situation has become so bad that many
book sections are drastically depleted
and there is no longer enough inventory on
hand to send out to churches in the villages.
(Village churches often ask for inventory so
their members can buy books without having
to make the long trip to the city.)
I
n spite of all of the difficulties, the team in
this Central Asian country has continued
to faithfully soldier on with the work of
providing Bibles and Christian books for their
nation. Their dedication to the ministry and
their endurance through all the hardships has
caused Neil Wardrope, CLC’s international
director, to praise them as being among his
personal “Heroes of CLC. ”
CLC has been working to get funds for this
team, but more help is needed. If the Lord
should prompt you to give for the work in this
country, please send a donation (check payable to
CLC Ministries) with a note saying, “Faithfully
Soldiering On in Central Asia.”
B
CHRISTIAN
Link
A Link in the Chain
By Mark Ridenour
A
s believers in the power of the gospel to change lives, Christians
seek to serve in the Kingdom as they are able. For some people that
means becoming a missionary and going to a foreign country to tell
people in person about Jesus and His sacrifice on their behalf. For others it
means praying for the lost and giving sacrificially for the work of the church
and missions agencies that work around the globe. There are many ways
and means that God uses to draw people to Himself.
CLC has a unique program called Christian BookLink to allow believers
in the United States to have Kingdom impact by simply giving what they
already have enough of—good Christian books. Many people have shelves
full of Christian books that they have already read and would be more than
willing to give to others around the world who do not have easy access to
this wealth of material. God uses this simple act of generosity to get books
into the hands of needy people in some of the hardest-to-reach countries at
prices that they can afford.
In the past few months many individuals and churches have donated books
and in recent days, the CLC USA team has been working hard to sort and
pack books for a 20-foot shipping container that is being sent to Liberia.
By the time you read this, the container should be on its way across the
Atlantic. These quality used books can be sold at prices Liberians can
afford ($1–$2 each) and still cover the freight cost, which is an important
element in CLC’s plan to reopen the bookstore in Monrovia, which was
closed in 1997 due to civil war. You can help with this wonderful program
by donating your quality used Christian books and/or volunteering to help
sort and pack the books that are received. Contact Mark Ridenour for
more information about the program at [email protected]. We need
donations for BookLink shipments in coming months to India, Myanmar
and Sierra Leone. You can become a link in the chain that leads someone
to Christ!
Needed: Used/new CHRISTIAN books in good condition, especially
Bibles and quality non-fiction books
For information on how to give books or funds for BookLink, go to
www.clcusa.org and click on BookLink
NO
Obstacle
too Great
By David Almack
T
he CLC team in
Myanmar has faced
many challenges over
the years, from limited financial resources to a lack of
available Christian books in
the Burmese language. Despite these hurdles they have
persevered and experienced
the blessing of the Lord on
their ministry. Led by Jacob
Mung, this team has single-handedly “changed the
trajectory of the Christian
church in Myanmar,” according to one local pastor.
In the last 20 years, they have
translated over 150 books
into the Burmese language,
published these books, and
are distributing them all over
the country. Much of this
work has been done from a
very modest space in downtown Yangon that serves as
both a Christian bookstore
and the publishing offices.
Three years ago, the CLC
Myanmar team had to vacate their location temporarily while the owner of
the property renovated and
rebuilt the building. This
resulted in a long sojourn
in less-than-adequate facilities. Even in these difficult
circumstances, the team continued to translate, publish
and distribute new Christian
books in Burmese. During
those years, Jacob was even
able to respond to natural
disasters like Cyclone Nargis
with aid to the families who
had lost everything.
This year, the CLC team was
able to move back into their
original location in a completely rebuilt building and a
newly renovated space. In a
great irony, the floor space of
the small store was decreased
from ten feet to nine feet
in width. Fortunately, they
had more depth and height
to work with and now have
a bookstore on the first floor
and offices with storage space
on the second floor. This
small but adequate space is
a true lighthouse for the gospel in the midst of the darkness of this Buddhist nation.
Led by Jacob Mung,
this team has singlehandedly “changed
the trajectory of the
Christian church in
Myanmar,” according
to one local pastor.
CLC’s purpose is
We Need
YOU!
Website – www.clcusa.org
Call – 215-542-1242
NEW STORE OPENING JUNE 1
CLC Cedarbrook Plaza Store
1000 Easton Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
215-242-4790 / 215-887-4500
INTERNATIONAL
CLC Bookcenters
Center City Bookcenter
730 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-922-6868
Chestnut Hill Bookcenter
7700 Crittenden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215-242-4790
Northfield Bookcenter
Moorestown Bookcenter
529 Tilton Road
Northfield, NJ 08225
609-641-4764
401 Route 38 (Kmart center)
Moorestown, NJ 08057
856-866-2688
CLC Church Stores
Word of Life Bookcenter
First African Baptist Church
901 Clifton Avenue
Sharon Hill, PA 19079
610-461-1108
Bread of Life Bookcenter
ENON Tabernacle Baptist Church
2800 West Cheltenham Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19150
215-276-7200
Sharon Reed Bookcenter
Sharon Baptist Church
3955 Conshohocken Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19131
215-473-3000
INTERNATIONAL
PRAY – the foundation of our
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faithful and sacrificial giving of people just like you. Please visit
our website for easy online giving options and information about
our ongoing needs around the world.
INTERNATIONAL
In-store
purchases of $30
or more
GO – we desire to send many more missionaries around the world in the
years to come and have opportunities for almost every skill set. No matter how
God has gifted you, if you are interested in utilizing your gifts for the Kingdom
in a literature mission, we want to chat with you. We have both short-term and
long-term opportunities available in English-speaking and non-English-speaking
countries. Visit our website for an updated list of current opportunities and connect
with us via e-mail or give us a call.
VOLUNTEER – we have a growing need for volunteers at our headquarters in Fort
Washington and in our local Christian bookstores. These flexible positions provide many
opportunities to minister and serve in whatever hours you have available. Please call us to find
out what our current needs are.
DONATE – we are actively seeking quality used Christian books for our Christian Booklink
program. These donated books will be given away to needy people in third world countries, used
in prisons here in the USA or sold as bargain books in our stores to support our mission activities.
INTERNATIONAL
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Not valid for church supplies or Sunday school materials
INTERNATIONAL
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purchases of $25
or more
Expires 5/31/12. May not be combined with any other offer
Not valid for church supplies or Sunday school materials
INTERNATIONAL
In-store
purchase of any
one non-sale
item valued at
$25 or more
Valid 6/1/12–6/30/12. May not be combined with any other offer
Not valid for church supplies or Sunday school materials
In-store
purchases of $40
or more
Valid 6/1/12–6/30/12. May not be combined with any other offer
Not valid for church supplies or Sunday school materials