Guttenberg to Google. That's part of the title that Beth Lewis, president and CEO of Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, uses for a speech she gives on proclaiming the gospel in the 21st century.
The words have a nice alliteration, but they also ring an ominous tone. The state of denominational publishing in the world of the Internet-a world in which the print publication industry is in turmoil-is at best enormously challenging, at worst rapidly diminishing.
Look at the figures gathered by LifeWay Research in a March study done for the Protestant Church-owned Publishers Association: Unit sales for denominational publishers are down 3.5 percent from a year ago, 8 percent from five years ago and 41 percent from 10 years ago. Denominational magazines, such as The Lutheran, follow the same trend: 2.2 percent for one year, 11 percent for five, and 20 percent for 10.
The rest of this article is only available to subscribers.
© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
