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Running a Christmas bookstall is a wonderful way to bless your church family, it’s super festive, lots of fun and not at all cumbersome. Rather than us tell you why and how you should run a Christmas bookstall, here are some reflections from people who have done it themselves. Whether you’re thinking to run a bookstall yourself or you’re a pastor or church administrator looking to delegate to someone else, read on...
“Living in a busy suburb, many of our church members do not have the time to get to a Christian bookshop, so when it comes to Christmas buying, I run a Christmas bookstall over the last weekend in November and the first in December.
I like to lay it out in age order — from small children, round to adults, and I have a number of recommendations in mind when people ask me for advice. “What can I buy for my teenage Godson who is not yet a Christian?” “What Bible do you recommend for my 8-year old niece?” “I have a neighbour who keeps asking me questions about the gospel - what could I give him for Christmas?” I can’t meet every requirement, but they are very grateful for a suggestion. I take the trouble to write down particular requests, and then phone the wonderful team at The Good Book Company with my questions on Monday — they then send the extra stock out for the second week. I go to church 30 minutes early to set out the stall, and make sure I have enough change for the cash tin. One big help is that there are notices sent out the week before, and the minister gives a notice out in church as well. Sometimes, I do a short slot recommending books from the front.
It’s great to help people as they seek to use Christmas as a way of reaching out, and encouraging others with the books they give.”
“We ran a bookstall at Grace Church Worcester Park which was really popular. I made an appeal for volunteers to run the bookstall over a three week period at the end of November/early December and several newer members offered, along with some of our young people. These volunteers were not only diligent in the way they ran it but told me that they enjoyed doing it too. They found the instructions very easy to follow so didn’t need my involvement at all. My anecdotal impression was that many people bought books who otherwise tend not to, so I felt that having the bookstall on offer for three weeks was well worth doing in ministry terms as well as being a help to people wanting to buy meaningful gifts for their loved ones. We’ll be doing it again this year.”
It’s great to help people as they seek to use Christmas as a way of reaching out
And if you’re still not convinced, here are some quotes from others who ran bookstalls last year:
"The instructions were brilliant!"
"A brilliant idea, would definitely use again"
"It was exactly right for our needs as a church"
"Good idea and well run"
Find out more about running a Christmas bookstall
Eleanor is a Digital Marketing Assistant for The Good Book Company. She studied English Literature at the University of Birmingham and interned in a handful of different publishing houses before joining the company.
