ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 26, 2006  

ELCA Publisher Expects Positive Financial Results For 2006
06-159-JB

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg
Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, was told that the publisher expects to finish
the 2006 fiscal year in the black for the first time in several
years. A factor is the higher-than-expected number of early
orders of the pew edition of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, a new
primary worship resource for the ELCA and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada.  The board met here Oct. 20-21.
     The new worship book, the result of a five-year plan to
renew worship in the ELCA, became available to the public Oct. 3.
Staff of Augsburg Fortress and the ELCA churchwide organization,
plus contributors, artists, editors, reviewers and volunteers
were significant players in the project to introduce new ELCA
worship resources.
     Evangelical Lutheran Worship will influence the publisher's
financial fortunes for 2006, said John Rahja, chief financial
officer, in his report to the board. Through August the company
recorded an overall $2.5 million net loss, he said. That loss is
expected to be made up by year's end, and the company expects to
have an income surplus, Rahja said. Strong overall sales, coupled
with orders of nearly 588,000 copies of the pew edition of
Evangelical Lutheran Worship, are expected to propel Augsburg
Fortress into the black for 2006, he said.
     Orders of the pew edition exceed availability for 2006, and
the company will carry a backlog of orders for the pew edition
into 2007, Rahja said.
     Any income over expenses will be reinvested into development
of new ministry resources for the ELCA and ecumenical partners,
said Beth A. Lewis, Augsburg Fortress president and chief
executive officer, in her written report to the board.
     The publisher is also experiencing significant sales through
its Web store, Lewis said.  Through September 2006, sales of
company products through its Web site are $5.6 million, up $1.2
million over the same period in 2005, and nearly $4.2 million
over Web sales for the same period in 2002.
     There is significant interest in recently introduced
Augsburg Fortress Web-based resources aimed at faith formation,
worship planning, preaching and confirmation, said Bill Huff,
publisher, congregational life and learning, Augsburg Fortress.
     Online offerings, new within the previous 18 months, are
available on a subscription basis to individuals and
congregations:
     + NewProclamation.com is a resource for help in preparing
sermons.  The service was introduced in July, and there are
almost 600 subscribers.
     + SundaysandSeasons.com is an online worship planner,
through which congregations can download worship content to print
in the weekly worship bulletin or project on a screen in worship.
There are some 1,900 congregations subscribed.  The site houses
most content for Evangelical Lutheran Worship online.
     + HereWeStandConfirmation.com is an online confirmation
series with more than 2,300 subscribers.  "The Lutheran
Handbook," a popular title for students, was published as part of
this series and resulted in several spin-off products for
Lutheran and ecumenical markets.  Lewis also reported The
Lutheran Handbook was translated into traditional Chinese this
past summer.
     + Akaloo.com was developed in partnership with the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is a lifelong faith formation
series for all ages.  A congregational membership enables all
members to access the service at church and at home.  Some 500
congregations have signed up.
     The four online services have generated some $2.5 million in
revenue for Augsburg Fortress, Huff said.  The Web-based
resources give the ELCA publisher a way to "leverage our edge"
with such resources in a way that other denominations and
competitors cannot, Lewis said.

Board focuses on technology, strategic business planning
     Lewis expanded on the publisher's use of technology in her
report to the board.  A challenge the company faces is responding
to opportunities to "proclaim the gospel" using technology, she
said. "We think this is where the church is going in
communication," Lewis said.
     A second challenge is responding to requests for what Lewis
called "just in time" and "just what I want" publishing.
Examples she cited were resources available by print-to-order and
print-on-demand, downloadable resources and resources in
languages other than English.  A third challenge is developing
publishing partnerships with other church denominations and
ethnic groups.
     Augsburg Fortress must continue to invest in improving its
use of technology and communicate externally with constituents
through e-mail and Web-based seminars or "Webinars," Lewis said.
It must also offer technology training for staff and customers,
she said.
     Lewis said she isn't sure where the company's use of
technology and new partnerships will take it.  "The good news is
we have Jesus walking with us," she said.
     In introducing a strategic business planning session, Lewis
asked the trustees to help the publisher's staff "think ahead
three years," so the company can move beyond being merely stable
to prosperous, she said.
     She reported staff morale has been lifted by the company's
continuing improvements in performance.  "A lot of it has to do
with (company) culture and believing in ourselves," Lewis said.
"We have come a long way."  She also credited "partners in
ministry" for sticking with Augsburg Fortress.
     But with success Lewis told the board she worries about
staff burnout.  "We have pushed them hard, and they have
performed magnificently," she said, adding that she worries most
about those "who toil in obscurity."
     The company's greatest opportunity is in its Web-based
subscription products, and its greatest threat is a competitor
that could outdo Augsburg Fortress in a particular category of
sales, Lewis said.
     For the future, the company has begun thinking about the
possibility of a new name, and it has engaged a firm to help the
ELCA publisher begin exploring a possible name change.  Also the
company's lease on its office space here will end in 2010, Lewis
reported.
     The board divided into small groups and spent most of a day
reviewing a proposed strategic business plan.
     The board adopted a strategic business plan for 2007 to
2009.  It also adopted a $44.5 million sales plan for 2007.
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     Information about Augsburg Fortress is at
http://www.augsburgfortress.org on the Web.

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