Inter-Varsity Press

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InterVarsity Press (IVP) is the name of two publishers of evangelical Christian books.

In the UK, IVP is the publishing arm of Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, while in the USA, IVP (InterVarsity Press, no hyphen) is linked to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. IVP (USA) is headquartered in Westmont, Illinois.

Many titles are published by both houses on their respective sides of the Atlantic. Some of the bestselling books published by IVP include:

Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
Knowing God by J. I. Packer
Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Robert K. Tacelli S.J., 1994
The Spirit Flyer Series by John Bibee
The Universe Next Door by James Sire
Search the Scriptures, a book that aims to help Christians read through and study the Bible in three years. The book in its various editions has sold over one million copies.

[edit] IVP-USA

In the US, InterVarsity Press began as a small service branch of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) campus ministry, which had its U.S. beginnings in the 1939-1940 academic year. At first IVP imported books from IVP in Great Britain for use by college students and IVCF chapters in the United States. IVP’s first home-grown publication was a Bible study guide, Discovering the Gospel of Mark, written by an IVCF staff member and published in the 1943-1944 academic year. In 1947 IVP’s formal publishing program was established.

In 1960 IVP’s editorial offices moved from Havertown, Pennsylvania, to Chicago, where the IVCF offices were then located. In 1965 IVP published its first bestseller, How to Give Away Your Faith by Paul Little. In 1966 IVP also moved its offices from Chicago to Downers Grove, approximately 30 miles west.

In 1968 Jim Nyquist became IVP’s full-time director and Jim Sire became IVP’s first full-time editor. Shortly afterward, IVP began publishing Francis Schaeffer’s works, beginning with The God Who Is There. Over the course of the 1970s and 80s, many of IVP’s key books were published, including Knowing God by J. I. Packer (1973), The Singer by Calvin Miller (1975), The Fight by John White (1976), The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire (1976), Out of the Saltshaker by Rebecca Manley Pippert (1979) and A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson (1980).

In 1984 Linda Doll became director of IVP. The next year LifeGuide Bible Studies were launched; they have now sold over 7 million copies. In 1990, Ken DeRuiter became executive director of IVP. Then in 1997, after Ken DeRuiter’s retirement, Bob Fryling joined IVP as director.

IVP had built a warehouse/distribution center in nearby Westmont during 1979. In January 1995, after 29 years in Downers Grove, IVP moved to new offices constructed adjacent to the distribution center. Today InterVarsity Press has a staff of nearly one hundred, publishing ninety to one hundred titles every year. IVP has more than one thousand books, Bible studies and booklets in print, shipping more than 2.3 million books each year.

[edit] Bibliography

Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. An Anecdotal History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2007 by Andrew T. Le Peau and Linda Doll, InterVarsity Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8308-3369-2.
For Christ and the University: The Story of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the U.S.A./ 1940-1990 by Keith & Gladys Hunt, InterVarsity Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8308-4996-3.