Out of the ghetto

Christian publishers reach for a share of the secular market, mainstream publishers jostle for Christian market share—and readers win from the competition | Gene Edward Veith, Lynn Vincent

Since Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez (Multnomah) was published in 2000, it has sold 9.3 million copies. The 12 Left Behind books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (Tyndale House) have sold 62 million copies over the last decade. Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life (Zondervan) has sold a million copies a month since it was published in 2002, making it, according to Publishers Weekly, "the bestselling hardback in American history."

Such numbers have caught the attention of even secular publishers and booksellers. "Evangelical publishers have managed to turn out a steady stream of blockbusters in recent years," observes Business Week, "making religion the hottest category in books."

No longer are Christian bookstores the sole outlet for evangelical books. Now evangelical titles—from inspirational meditations to Christian fiction—can be found at Barnes & Nobles, airport bookstands, grocery stores, and Wal-Marts.