NEWS RELEASE

Concordia Publishing House 3558 South Jefferson Ave. St. Louis, Missouri 63118-3968 CONTACT: Emily Barlean, Corporate Communications Phone: 314.268.1294 e-mail: emily.barlean@cph.org For Immediate Release

A Childrens Bible Four Years in the Making

Concordia Publishing House Releases The Story Bible Twitter Pitch: Learn more about why The Story Bible from @concordiapub is the best childrens Bible on the market: http://pitch.pe/150000 Summary: Concordia Publishing House releases a high quality, Christ-centered childrens Bible unlike
anything ever produced. The Story Bible leads children ages 3-8 to understand the Sacred Scriptures and can be purchased from Concordia Publishing House by visiting cph.org.

Saint Louis, MOConcordia Publishing House, the publishing arm of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri
Synod, is proud to announce their newest childrens Bible, The Story Bible. Described by one reader as a walk-off grand slam, the Bible features lifelike, high-quality illustrations, Christ-centered stories, and resources to enhance learning. Created for children ages three and up, The Story Bible can be read to children, with children, and by children, and leads little ones to understand the Sacred Scriptures. The Story Bible was a dream project for me since I had used numerous Bible story books with my four children but was never quite happy with what was available, said Senior Editor Reverend Edward Engelbrecht. The books were missing important elements such as faithfulness to the biblical text, consistent focus on salvation in Christ, or appropriate artwork. You might find one or two of these elements but never all together in one package. To provide the church with a childrens Bible that included all of those elements, Engelbrecht paired with fellow editor Gail Pawlitz and set out to create a rich and feature-filled childrens resource that could help increase a childs understanding of the Bible. To prepare for the project, Pawlitz and Engelbrecht spent hundreds of hours researching what was most needed and most practical. To do this, Rev. Engelbrecht spent time at Immanuel Lutheran School in Washington, MO, reading with the children from preschool to second grade to find out what they preferred and required. Pawlitz compiled research and actively spoke with students in kindergarten and second grade. During her visits, Pawlitz showed students samples of different kinds of biblical art; by assessing their choices, Pawlitz was able to discover what kind of art would be best for a Bible story collection. My research supported the idea that people, places, and objects that look real to children translate to them as being real and true, said Gail Pawlitz. That is why the illustrations in The Story Bible are not abstract cartoons. Their realistic look helps reinforce to little children that the Bible is real, the people in it are real, and the places referenced are real. Overall, it took four years for CPH to collect the wealth of art used to enrich the pages of The Story Bible. The engaging artwork comes from the Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum.

"Aside from beautiful pictures and a wonderful design, The Story Bible offers something no other childrens Bible provides: the wonderful Christ-centered power of the Holy Scriptures, said Paul McCain, publisher at CPH. Children will love this Bible, and parents and grandparents will love sharing it with them." The publishing companys intent was to keep the focus on Christ by presenting stories with Old Testament prophecies about ChristGods gift of the Savior. Instead of paraphrasing, Engelbrecht and Pawlitz worked together to draw stories directly from the Bible and adjusted them for student readability. Also included in The Story Bible are Ask, Do, and Pray features, written by Pawlitz, meant to help readers extend the meaning of the text. Plus, the text is threaded together with introductions, written by Engelbrecht, that allow readers to better understand the stories. We had the opportunity to do this Bible story collection right, from the start, said Engelbrecht. Plus, field tests of early editions helped us affirm the direction we were going. Whether for at-home use, in preschools, or as part of a congregation-wide childrens ministry, The Story Bible is truly groundbreaking for Concordia Publishing House and for the Christian market. To order or learn more about the childrens Bible, visit cph.org or call 1-800-325-3040. Jesus is the Savior God promised for all of His believers, said Pawlitz. I truly believe that this Bible sharpens that point better than any I have ever reviewed.

Resource Links:
Social Media Release: http://pitch.pe/150000 Concordia Publishing House: http://www.cph.org The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org The Story Bible: http://bit.ly/mK3w0F Look inside The Story Bible: http://www.cph.org/pdf/012049.pdf Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum: http://www.cph.org/sundayschool Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the official publisher of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. Visit CPH on the Web at http://www.cph.org.

Media Resources:

View this or previous releases or download via Word or PDF on Scribd. ###

News Facts:
CPH has more than 8,000 products that can be used by families and individuals, Christian schools and congregations. Check out cph.org to find out about all that we have to offer. Cant find what you are looking for? Contact us and let our world class customer service representatives lend a hand at 1-800325-3040.

Tags:
Concordia Publishing House, CPH, The Story Bible, The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod, LCMS, childrens Bible, Bible, new Bible, revolutionary, groundbreaking, best in the market, best in show, walk off grand slam, Ed Engelbrecht, Gail Pawlitz, Christian Bible, kids Bible, Bible story collection, unprecedented, Growing in Christ, Sunday School, curriculum, art, ESV, English Standard Version