The Global Christian Publishing Symposium concluded last month with a summary of challenges to be addressed by the international publishing community. Meeting together for two days in Colorado Springs, CO., participants from nine countries identified key issues to be addressed in the future, including research and data collection; training workers; organizational capacity and sustainability; integration of new technologies including AI; cross-border distribution; and establishment of quality standards for Christian publishing.

The purpose of the symposium was to explore ways to promote and strengthen the Christian publishing industry, especially in less-resourced countries. The task was to identify troubling publishing issues and to seek solutions.

Resource material for the conference was provided not only by participants, but publishers from an additional four countries, in total representing Africa, Latin America, Europe, West and East Asia, the Middle East, and North America.

Each participant completed a comprehensive questionnaire detailing publishing challenges and opportunities in their own region and ministry and potential for collaboration with other organizations. The result was a 66-page symposium notebook and a 50-page addendum.

Participants represented Christian publishers, financial supporters, training organizations, publishing associations, distribution platforms, print providers, literature distributors, and a variety of others dedicated to strengthening Christian publishing worldwide.

The diverse representation of individuals and organizations in the Christian publishing industry contributed to the breadth and depth of discussion of the significant issues hampering Christian publishing and the potential solutions.

Through presentations, discussion, and collaborative workshops, participants developed a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Christian publishers in their unique contexts, while identifying ways their ministries might complement and learn from one another.

The symposium was the fifth such gathering of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting Christian publishing worldwide. Previous symposiums were focused almost entirely on publisher training. For this symposium, the decision was made to bring together a broader constituency of those dedicated to Christian publishing.

In a final session, participants agreed they would like to see the vision for the symposium program carried forward into the future. Because Magazine Training International President Sharon Mumper, who organized the symposium, is retiring, they asked Heather Pubols of Media Associates International (MAI) to take responsibility for the future of the program. This is a logical step since MAI is already considering the creation of a think tank on global Christian publishing issues.

Pubols has agreed to carry forward the symposium program, saying that she is honored to follow in Mumper’s footsteps and is looking forward to continuing to explore ways to strengthen the Christian publishing industry, especially in less-resourced countries.

Stimulus for a future Global Christian Publishing Symposium may be provided by working groups now being formed to continue discussion of the issues raised in the symposium. Members of the groups will consist of symposium participants and others in publishing who are interested in the topic and would like to participate in discussion. Meetings will be conducted by video. Symposium Organizing Committee members hope that the working groups will be able to provide valuable input for a future symposium.