Your Intrepid Blogger has just returned from an overnight stay in the heart of downtown Chicago, having attended a seminar on “High-Powered Religious Publishing: Getting Down to Business” at Fourth Presbyterian Church at Chestnut and Michigan.
Wow! The new 24.5-acre Millennium Park on Michigan Ave. is well worth a trip to the Windy City! You can see more about it by clicking here, or just by Googling “Millennium Park Chicago.” The 50-foot high glass-block-video-towers-fountans are spectacular at night. The unique reflective “bean” that enables you to see a reflection of the sparkling Chicago skyline at night is an eye-popper. And the huge Pritzker amphitheatre, snaking pedestrian walks to the lake front…and more. What a treat to experience this $475 million park, just opened this past July.
But the main business of the trip was to join with about 30 other religious publishers in talking trends in Christian magazine publishing, web strategies for religious publications, new product development, various kinds of subscriber configurations, and advertising strategy in religious publishing.
Colleagues were there from a number of organizations, including Christianity Today, Nav Press, InTouch, and a number of other denominational publications. Fourth Presby also features free classical concerts every Friday noon, so a Baroque flute duo was an added special treat.
Though not dramatic, there will be a few subtle changes coming to FGBCWorld and BMH Books as a result of this seminar. It’s always good to get a scope on what’s happening in the rest of the industry, and to compare notes with colleagues.
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Is your church planning anything special to honor your hard-working staff?