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News (NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 1, 2009/GBOD) — Discipleship Resources, a publishing arm of the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, is searching for ways to remain viable, while facing the reality that it must re-think its role as a publisher of church resources. The publisher of practical helps and ministry solutions for the denomination, Discipleship Resources, is making some huge changes.
"Retail bookstores are going out of business, and people are buying more and more books through the web. Because of these factors and a larger commitment to stewardship and the church's mission, GBOD is rethinking and re-creating its way of resourcing the church," Donigian said. The publishing unit will continue print operations through the end of December 2009, but after that the imprint will resource the church through creative use of the web and other delivery systems. Largely in response to congregational needs, stewardship of church resources, and the changing ways in which people seek resources, the publishing unit is rethinking its forms of ministry in light of the mission of the greater church.
"The publishing industry is changing dramatically, and church-based publishers are not immune to the need to change the ways ministry content is provided to the church and larger world. "We're making these changes in order to provide a viable and sustainable way to deliver the content needed for ministry. This means that we have to build new economic and business models to support new delivery systems," said Greenwaldt. The Discipleship Resources imprint continues and will remain responsive to the needs of the church for the 21st century, using technology resources. Donigian says that the content will be delivered by new forms of technology that offer multiple options and many different ways for people to customize resources to meet congregational needs. "The traditional publishing unit, as we know it, will cease to exist; the content will still be there, but just not in the same form," says Donigian. "We'll need to help people see some of the ways seemingly unrelated materials can work together," he said. An independent publishing unit of GBOD, Discipleship Resources evolved from "Tidings," which was the book imprint of the old Methodist Board of Christian Education. "In this economy, you've got to change," said Lynne Deming, executive director of publishing for the Upper Room. "As people of God, we know that God is doing a new thing, opening us to a new creation, and we also know that God is with us in the midst of all these changes." The General Board of Discipleship's mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD (www.gbod.org) is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at 877-899-2780, ext. 7017.
News Media Contact: Jeanette Pinkston, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 340-7017 or jpinkston@gbod.org
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