Dear Christian Bookstores:
As a primary role of the neighborhood Christian bookstore is to meet the needs of fellow Christians, this includes meeting their travel needs. Currently most Christian bookstores unfortunately are missing out on a tremendous ministry and financial opportunity by not hosting a "Travel" section in their respective stores. As a result, Christians do not shop for travel books at their neighborhood Christian bookstore but rather at their secular bookstore counterparts (ironically this applies to the owners of Christian bookstores too). I'd like to change all that and begin assisting Christian bookstores of meeting the travel needs of their fellow Christians.
How can we make this possible? It all begins with Christian bookstores launching a Travel section in their respective stores. For this reason, I will begin writing more often on this topic. For today's purposes however, I wanted to provide Christian bookstores with a sampling of titles that they can begin their Christian Travel section with......here are some possible titles:
* The Christian Travel Planner by Kevin J. Wright (Thomas Nelson)
* The Christian Traveler’s Guide to the Holy Land by Charles H. Dyer and Gregory A. Hatteberg (Moody Publishers)
* How to Get Ready for Short-Term Missions by Anne-Geri Fann & Greg Taylor (Thomas Nelson)
* The Changing Face of World Missions by Michael Pocock (Baker Academic)
* The Christian Traveler’s Companion The USA & Canada by Amy S. Eckert and William J. Petersen (Fleming Revell)
* Christian Lodging Guide by Christian Hospitality Network (William & Warren)
* Touring C.S. Lewis’ Ireland & England by Perry C. Bramlett and Ronald W. Higdon (Smyth & Helwys)
* Vacations with a Purpose – A Handbook for your Short-Term Missions Experience by Chris Eaton & Kim Hurst (Cook Ministries Resources)
* The Christian Conference Planner by Angela Yee (SummitStar)
* Europe’s Monastery & Convent Guesthouses by Kevin J. Wright (Liguori Publications)
* Bed And Blessings Italy – A Guide to Convents and Monasteries Available for Overnight Lodging by June Walsh/Anne Walsh (Paulist Press)
* Every Pilgrim’s Guide to Celtic Britain and Ireland by Andrew Jones (Liguori Publications)
* Every Pilgrim’s Guide to the Journeys of the Apostles – Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Itlay, Lebanon, Malta, Syria and the Holy Land by Michael Counsell (Canterbury Press)
* The Christian Travelers Guide to Italy by Irving Hexham (Zondervan)
* The Christian Travelers Guide to Great Britain by Irving Hexham (Zondervan)
* The Christian Travelers Guide to France by Irving Hexham (Zondervan)
* The Christian Travelers Guide to Germany by Irving Hexham (Zondervan)
There are dozens more titles of faith and family friend travel books. Watch for more of my blog writings on this subject.
All the best,
Kevin J. Wright
May 1, 2008
My Book Signing at The Rock Church
I had a wonderful time at the last Sunday's book signing at The Rock Church (mega-church) in San Diego, CA.....home of Pastor Miles McPherson, former NFL player with the San Diego Chargers. Here's a photo from the book signing and event.....
April 23, 2008
Bookstores Being Creative with The Christian Travel Planner
Hey Christian Bookstores......
Want to increase your sales and become the "go to" place for all Christians? Then check out this ingenious Christian giftshop idea below regarding the debut of their new "Travel" section! As their sales of The Christian Travel Planner of course went through the roof with this fabulous and fun display.....you can replicate this idea or even challenge yourself and see if your store can come up with a bigger, better, and more remarkable idea. The sky is the limit!
P.S. If you know of any bookstores or giftshops that have a fun "Travel" section display.....send in photos of the display to me and I may publish it in The Christian Travel Planner blog!
April 19, 2008
Book Signing at The Rock Church April 27 (San Diego, CA)
I will be doing a book signing at The Rock Church in San Diego on Sunday April 27 from 11am to 2pm. The Rock Church is located at 2277 Rosecrans St. San Diego, CA 92106. The pastor of The Rock Church is Miles McPherson, former NFL player with the San Diego Chargers. I hope to see you there! By the way.....here's a sneak-peak look at the "Tower of Power" for the Christian Travel Planner guidebook at The Rock Church bookstore - in preparation for the book signing. The photo is complements of my professional (cell phone) photographer sister - Michelle Wright.
Associated Press: Christian Travel Planner guide to faith-based trips
Christian Travel Planner guide to faith-based trips
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 04/18/2008
Click here to view the full Associated Press article.
NASHVILLE—A guide to faith-based trips is out called "The Christian Travel Planner."
The $16.99 paperback includes information about missions and ministries; Christian cruises, camps and retreats; and Christian heritage sites overseas in the Middle East, Greece, Italy, England, Germany and other places.
Domestic attractions noted in the book include the Holy Land Experience biblical park in Orlando, Fla., and "The Great Passion Play" performed in Eureka Springs, Ark. Listings for monastic guest stays include the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, N.M., and the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky.
The book from Nashville-based publisher Thomas Nelson was written by Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association.
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 04/18/2008
Click here to view the full Associated Press article.
NASHVILLE—A guide to faith-based trips is out called "The Christian Travel Planner."
The $16.99 paperback includes information about missions and ministries; Christian cruises, camps and retreats; and Christian heritage sites overseas in the Middle East, Greece, Italy, England, Germany and other places.
Domestic attractions noted in the book include the Holy Land Experience biblical park in Orlando, Fla., and "The Great Passion Play" performed in Eureka Springs, Ark. Listings for monastic guest stays include the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, N.M., and the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky.
The book from Nashville-based publisher Thomas Nelson was written by Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association.
April 6, 2008
Denver Post Review - The Christian Travel Planner
Denver Post Review of The Christian Travel Planner
Book Your Vacation
04/03/2008
Website link: http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_8775853
"The Christian Travel Planner" ($16.99, Thomas Nelson) makes it possible to plan a trip around specific interests, including tours of biblical areas, retreats, pilgrimages and missionary work, as well as vacations that incorporate stops at religious sites throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. Author Kevin J. Wright, who lives in Littleton and is the founder of the World Religious Travel Association, has organized the planner in a logical way, starting with the reasons for going to a particular area, the religious significance of the sites, the time and logistics involved, and the costs. He also offers relevant Bible passages and historical information, as well as practical tips, such as his suggestion for taking warm clothing if you plan to hike to the top of Mount Sinai in Egypt in the early morning, as it can be chilly even in the summer. Helpful websites, lodging recommendations and other activity options in each area round out this thorough guide.
Kyle Wagner
Book Your Vacation
04/03/2008
Website link: http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_8775853
"The Christian Travel Planner" ($16.99, Thomas Nelson) makes it possible to plan a trip around specific interests, including tours of biblical areas, retreats, pilgrimages and missionary work, as well as vacations that incorporate stops at religious sites throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. Author Kevin J. Wright, who lives in Littleton and is the founder of the World Religious Travel Association, has organized the planner in a logical way, starting with the reasons for going to a particular area, the religious significance of the sites, the time and logistics involved, and the costs. He also offers relevant Bible passages and historical information, as well as practical tips, such as his suggestion for taking warm clothing if you plan to hike to the top of Mount Sinai in Egypt in the early morning, as it can be chilly even in the summer. Helpful websites, lodging recommendations and other activity options in each area round out this thorough guide.
Kyle Wagner
Boston Globe Review - The Christian Travel Planner
Boston Globe review of The Christian Travel Planner
Where Jesus went, and Paul, and Martin ...
Posted by Julie Dalton, Globe Travel Staff
February 19, 2008 01:27 PM
This seemed like the book Mike Huckabee would be picking up in the next couple of weeks – oh, OK, maybe months – but his grandly paid Presidents Day weekend in Grand Cayman for the price of a 20-minute speech may have affected his tastes. . . . Nah, Huck still will love “The Christian Travel Planner” by Kevin J. Wright (Thomas Nelson, 416 pp., $16.99, paperback), an encyclopedic and friendly presentation and exposition of sites around the world to entice and inspire travelers uninterested in Sodom, Gomorrah, or Vegas. Pilgrimage tours, mission trips, retreats, conference cruises, camp vacations, religious festivals, solo itineraries devised by the reader alone or with friends are all possible with the materials Wright has meticulously assembled. Jesus (Israel, Jordan, the Egyptian Sinai), Saint Paul (Turkey and Greece), early Christianity (Rome and the Vatican), John Knox (Scotland), Martin Luther (Germany), Thomas Becket (Canterbury Cathedral), John Calvin (Switzerland) are all historical pieces of the worldwide reach of Christian religions and their shrines and remnants.
With each selection, including the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati and the Holy Land Experience in Orlando and the Amish community in Pennsylvania, Wright includes almost all the information an interested traveler, armchair or otherwise, might require in order to take the next step. With some, he goes further: Why should I visit? What should I see and do? How much time should I spend? How can I get there? All are answered succinctly (and none too theologically). In the section on cruises, for instance, Wright summarizes trips by length, cost, when best to go, with whom, and adds a list of “Demands and Benefits”: spiritual focus, fellowship opportunities, physically demanding, intellectually stimulating, emotionally rewarding, culturally enriching. The book has other virtues, though not pictorial (it is truly a paperback, black and white): maps showing itineraries, be they Paul’s or Moses’; a detailed index; pages of notes; a varied bibliography; a list of tour operators; and more websites throughout than you can imagine. Then, again, the religious travel industry is a multibillion-dollar business with hundreds of millions of participants each year. Thinking again of the job-hunting former governor of Arkansas traveling with homo sapiens restores my faith in humanity.
Where Jesus went, and Paul, and Martin ...
Posted by Julie Dalton, Globe Travel Staff
February 19, 2008 01:27 PM
This seemed like the book Mike Huckabee would be picking up in the next couple of weeks – oh, OK, maybe months – but his grandly paid Presidents Day weekend in Grand Cayman for the price of a 20-minute speech may have affected his tastes. . . . Nah, Huck still will love “The Christian Travel Planner” by Kevin J. Wright (Thomas Nelson, 416 pp., $16.99, paperback), an encyclopedic and friendly presentation and exposition of sites around the world to entice and inspire travelers uninterested in Sodom, Gomorrah, or Vegas. Pilgrimage tours, mission trips, retreats, conference cruises, camp vacations, religious festivals, solo itineraries devised by the reader alone or with friends are all possible with the materials Wright has meticulously assembled. Jesus (Israel, Jordan, the Egyptian Sinai), Saint Paul (Turkey and Greece), early Christianity (Rome and the Vatican), John Knox (Scotland), Martin Luther (Germany), Thomas Becket (Canterbury Cathedral), John Calvin (Switzerland) are all historical pieces of the worldwide reach of Christian religions and their shrines and remnants.
With each selection, including the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati and the Holy Land Experience in Orlando and the Amish community in Pennsylvania, Wright includes almost all the information an interested traveler, armchair or otherwise, might require in order to take the next step. With some, he goes further: Why should I visit? What should I see and do? How much time should I spend? How can I get there? All are answered succinctly (and none too theologically). In the section on cruises, for instance, Wright summarizes trips by length, cost, when best to go, with whom, and adds a list of “Demands and Benefits”: spiritual focus, fellowship opportunities, physically demanding, intellectually stimulating, emotionally rewarding, culturally enriching. The book has other virtues, though not pictorial (it is truly a paperback, black and white): maps showing itineraries, be they Paul’s or Moses’; a detailed index; pages of notes; a varied bibliography; a list of tour operators; and more websites throughout than you can imagine. Then, again, the religious travel industry is a multibillion-dollar business with hundreds of millions of participants each year. Thinking again of the job-hunting former governor of Arkansas traveling with homo sapiens restores my faith in humanity.
March 25, 2008
WRTA features special 50% discount for The Christian Travel Planner
The World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) debuts this month a special 50% discount reserved exclusively for all members/associates of WRTA - when they purchase The Christian Travel Planner (www.christiantravelplanner.com).
To join WRTA and become a Member or Associate and receive your special 50% discount, simply visit www.religioustravelassociation.com and click on "Join WRTA." The complete your online membership registration.
To join WRTA and become a Member or Associate and receive your special 50% discount, simply visit www.religioustravelassociation.com and click on "Join WRTA." The complete your online membership registration.
USA TODAY features The Christian Travel Planner
USA TODAY featured my new book The Christian Travel Planner (www.christiantravelplanner.com) in my interview with them for the featured article "10 great places to mark Christianity's holiest day." To view the full article, click here http://www.abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=4491511&page=1
Opening story paragraph....
Celebrate the sacred Christian holiday of Easter with a journey to a religious site where faith and history come alive. Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association and author of The Christian Travel Planner (Thomas Nelson, $16.99), shares his recommendations worldwide with Kathy Baruffi for USA TODAY.
Opening story paragraph....
Celebrate the sacred Christian holiday of Easter with a journey to a religious site where faith and history come alive. Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association and author of The Christian Travel Planner (Thomas Nelson, $16.99), shares his recommendations worldwide with Kathy Baruffi for USA TODAY.
March 2, 2008
Christian Travel Planner Website debuts
You can now visit the Official website for The Christian Travel Planner at www.christiantravelplanner.com. You can view here info about the travel guidebook, press, a sample chapter, and info on where to buy the book and much more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
