Nazarene Publishing House

Nazarene Publishing House (NPH), the publishing arm of the Church of the Nazarene, was a large publisher of Wesleyan-Holiness literature.[1] and has been located at 2923 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri since its foundation in 1912. NPH prints more than 25 million pieces of literature each year,[2] and processes more than 250,000 orders each year from more than 11,000 churches[3] from many denominations.

History

The Third General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene held in Nashville, Tennessee in 1911 recommended that the infant denomination’s three publishing companies (then located in Rhode Island, Texas, and Los Angeles, California) each founded by a different Nazarene parent body, consolidate into “one central publishing company” and merge their three papers into one strong paper. The newly created Pentecostal Nazarene Publishing House was sited at 2923 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, in 1912, with Clarence J. Kinne, a Nazarene ordained minister, as its first manager.[4]

The Herald of Holiness, the new weekly paper, edited by B. F. Haynes, appeared for the first time in April 1912. The Other Sheep (later World Mission) magazine began publication in 1913 under founding editor Charles Allen McConnell (born 19 June 1860 in Valparaiso, Indiana; died c.1950), who was NPH manager from 1916 to 1918.[5] Both magazines were published until 1999, when they were discontinued in favor of Holiness Today, a new publication. In the meantime, Spanish, Portuguese, and French editions of Herald of Holiness appeared over the years.[6]

Lillenas Publishing, which was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1925 by Nazarene minister and composer Haldor Lillenas (born 19 November 1885 at Stord Island, Norway; died 18 August 1959 at Aspen, Colorado).[7] Lillenas was purchased by NPH[8] in 1930.[9]

Closing In October, 2014, a decision was announced by the denomination's Board of General Superintendents to shut down NPH on December 1, 2014, citing “shifting cultural circumstances including changes in the church” [10]

Relationship with the Church of the Nazarene

NPH is a separate corporate entity from the Church of the Nazarene, although it is accountable to the church. NPH has a Board of Directors and is also accountable to one of the six General Superintendents of the Church of the Nazarene who has oversight of NPH.

NPH imprints

NPH publishes a variety of books, music and materials.

Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City

Not to be confused with Beacon Press.

The primary label under which books are published is Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Lillenas

Lillenas Publishing Company is one of the largest church music publishers in the world, providing dozens of new musical arrangements each year.[11] Lillenas owns more than 20,000 song copyrights.[12] Lillenas' primary focus is creating and providing "worship resource for the medium and small church", and serves more than 50,000 churches around the world each year.[13] Lillenas is a not-for-profit organization. Lillenas profits go to support mission efforts around the world including: education, compassionate ministries, as well as other humanitarian efforts.[14]

Word Action

Sunday school curriculum is published under the label Word Action. The WordAction Publishing Company is a not-for-profit organization that provides Bible-based, Wesleyan-Holiness curriculum resources for all ages.[15] Its resources are designed through the cooperative efforts of The Salvation Army, Church of the Nazarene, Wesleyans, Evangelical Friends, Free Methodists, and Evangelical United Methodists. WordAction is a part of the Nazarene Publishing House and has become the world's leading provider of holiness Sunday School lessons and curriculum for children, youth, and adult Sunday School, as well as a leading provider of small group resources and devotional material for family or personal daily devotional times.[16]

Barefoot Ministries

Youth ministry resources are published under the label Barefoot Ministries.

Casa Nazarena de Publicaciones

Spanish materials are produced by Casa Nazarena de Publicaciones.

References

  1. ↑ "About the Church of the Nazarene"; http://www.nazarene.org/ministries/administration/visitorcenter/about/display.aspx (accessed 18 March 2009),
  2. ↑ http://www.flychurch.org/Lists/News%20and%20Announcements/Attachments/23/Naz%20centennial%20highlights.pdf (accessed 18 March 2009).
  3. ↑ http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ids/customers/nph.html (accessed 18 March 2009).
  4. ↑ Stan, Ingersol, "The Nazarene Presence in Kansas City" (2007); http://m7conference.org/Default.aspx?tabid=151 (accessed 18 March 2009).
  5. ↑ Dorli Gschwandtner, "Dr. C. A. McConnell"; http://www.snu.edu/c-a-mcconnell
  6. ↑ Stan Ingersol, "A CENTURY OF ONE AND MANY: A History of One Hundred Years of the Church of the Nazarene"; http://dentonnazarene.org/Article%20-%20History%20of%20the%20Church%20of%20the%20Nazarene.htm (accessed 18 March 2009).
  7. ↑ Brother Maynard, "HoMY 67: Wonderful Grace of Jesus" (24 August 2008); http://subversiveinfluence.com/2008/08/homy-67-wonderful-grace-of-jesus/ (accessed 18 March 2009).
  8. ↑ Keith W. Ward, "A Hymn of Grace: Wonderful Grace of Jesus" Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 10:18 (Spring 1997); http://faithalone.org/journal/1997i/Ward.html (accessed 18 March 2009).
  9. ↑ Stacey Nicholas, "Holiness Churches", in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, eds. David J. Bodenhamer, Robert Graham Barrows, and David Gordon Vanderstel (Indiana University Press, 1994):699.
  10. ↑ "Beacon Hill Press Closing" article by Lynn Garrett in Publisher's Weekly posted October 22; http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/64411-beacon-hill-press-closing.html (accessed 27 October 2014).
  11. ↑ http://www.lillenas.com/nphweb/html/lmol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2353738&catSecCd=ABOUT&nid=ban
  12. ↑ http://www.lillenas.com/nphweb/html/lmol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2353738&catSecCd=ABOUT&nid=ban
  13. ↑ http://www.lillenas.com/nphweb/html/lmol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2353738&catSecCd=ABOUT&nid=ban
  14. ↑ http://www.lillenas.com/nphweb/html/lmol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2353738&catSecCd=ABOUT&nid=ban
  15. ↑ "About Us"; http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/waol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2350855&nid=foot (accessed 25 March 2009).
  16. ↑ http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/waol/index.jsp (accessed 25 March 2009).

External links