{"id":13128,"date":"2019-03-26T14:24:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T18:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=13128"},"modified":"2019-03-26T14:24:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T18:24:37","slug":"nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","title":{"rendered":"Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail Chain Set to Close All 170 Stores"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_13129\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13129\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2019\/03\/lifewaystore.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13129\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2019\/03\/lifewaystore.jpg\" alt=\"hattiesburgmemory\/flickr.com\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">hattiesburgmemory\/flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>LifeWay Christian resources will close all their retail locations. The store has been an important channel for Christian publishers.<\/p>\n<p>The retailer is now shifting gears and all merchandise will be offered entirely online.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe decision to close our local stores is a difficult one,\u201d said acting president and CEO Brad Waggoner,\u201cLifeWay has developed close connections with the communities where our stores are located, and we have been honored to serve those communities. We will continue serving local congregations as they meet the spiritual needs of their neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This has been a tough time for the Christian retail business. LifeWay\u2019s closure comes just two years after its competitor, Family Christian Resources, closed down all 240 locations following mounting debt and bankruptcy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs someone who spent 20 years working in Christian retail, I am sad that there will be 170 fewer physical stores where people can find and purchase Christian books, Bibles and resoruces,\u201d said Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) president CEO Stan Jantz in direct response to LifeWay\u2019s closing.<\/p>\n<p>While the closing is hard for many, it signals a new chapter for LifeWay and Christian retailers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertainly in the short run, adjusting to this new reality will be a challenge\u2026LifeWay stores have been an important channel for Christian publishers, but the life-changing content produced by ECPA members will continue to find and engage readers in ever more creative and effective ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the LifeWay website, the timing of store closings will vary depending on local circumstances. LifeWay expects all brick-and-mortar stores to close by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>LifeWay has been in operation since 1891 and has offered a comprehensive selection of Bibles, books, Scripture tools. Bible studies, children\u2019s products. Christian music and movies, gifts and church supplies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur world and our customers are increasingly online,\u201d Waggoner said, \u201cInvesting in a dynamic digital strategy allows LifeWay to better serve the Church in its mission and only enhances our ability to provide biblical solutions for life.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>We want to know what you think!<\/h3>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/survey.fm\/2FE7A2849F2C4B13\">Take Our Survey<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LifeWay Christian resources will close all their retail locations. The store has been an important channel for Christian publishers. The retailer is now shifting gears and all merchandise will be offered entirely online. \u201cThe decision to close our local stores is a difficult one,\u201d said acting president and CEO Brad Waggoner,\u201cLifeWay has developed close connections&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2518,2517,2516,2515,672],"class_list":["post-13128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","tag-christian-retailers","tag-christian-store-closing","tag-christian-stores","tag-lifeway","tag-lifeway-christian-bookstore"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail Chain Set to Close All 170 Stores<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail Chain Set to Close All 170 Stores\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LifeWay Christian resources will close all their retail locations. The store has been an important channel for Christian publishers. The retailer is now shifting gears and all merchandise will be offered entirely online. \u201cThe decision to close our local stores is a difficult one,\u201d said acting president and CEO Brad Waggoner,\u201cLifeWay has developed close connections&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-26T18:24:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lesli White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/files\/2019\/03\/lifewaystore.jpg\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail Chain Set to Close All 170 Stores","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail Chain Set to Close All 170 Stores","og_description":"LifeWay Christian resources will close all their retail locations. The store has been an important channel for Christian publishers. The retailer is now shifting gears and all merchandise will be offered entirely online. \u201cThe decision to close our local stores is a difficult one,\u201d said acting president and CEO Brad Waggoner,\u201cLifeWay has developed close connections&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2019-03-26T18:24:37+00:00","author":"Lesli White","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/files\/2019\/03\/lifewaystore.jpg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/nations-biggest-christian-retail-chain-set-close-170-stores","name":"Nation\u2019s Biggest Christian Retail 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