NavPress and The Message, along with The Munce Group and Munce Group Member stores in conjunction with MTL Magazine, want to show God’s love this Christmas by reaching out to those who deserve an extra blessing. But they need the community’s help to do it.

“The Message Season of Giving” is a nationwide campaign to encourage individuals to nominate a needy person, family, or church by sharing the story of the nominee and why this nominee deserves to win. Nominations will be accepted at www.theseasonofgiving.com, which launches Sept. 15.

In addition, NavPress will contribute a portion of the proceeds from every Message* product sold through MTL stores to the Season of Giving Fund, which will be used to award contest winners’ prizes.

“We were inspired by Philippians 4:19: ‘You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus,’” explains NavPress Sales Director Eric Helus.

A total of four winners will be chosen by NavPress and notified by Dec. 10.

The contest will receive in-store promotion through bag stuffers and shelftalkers. NavPress is promoting “The Message Season of Giving” in its enewsletters, at www.navpress.com, and at www.theseasonofgiving.com.

No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win this contest.

* Excluding The Message//REMIX: Solo [Pink Edition]

Dr. Gary Smalley is partnering with NavPress in creating Guarding Your Child’s Heart, a highly practical parenting curriculum that teaches how to implement the concept of Scripture memory and meditation in a family setting. Releasing January 2011, Guarding Your Child's Heart includes a DVD series and companion workbook designed for families and small groups. Participants will also be personally mentored by Dr. Smalley through an interactive website.

"I've turned seventy this year, and a whole new experience has been happening to me that is far and above everything I have ever done!" says Dr. Smalley. "I've been learning how to help people improve their lives, marriages, and families through Scripture memory. But more importantly, I see my own family and my grandkids understanding and applying it. That's what thrills me the most."

Dr. Smalley, president and founder of The Smalley Relationship Center and one of the country’s best-known authors and speakers on family and marriage, is focusing his attention on Scripture memory and the life-changing effect it can have on children and family relationships.

NavPress author Avery T. Willis Jr. passed away on July 30, 2010. A former pastor, missionary, seminary president, and missions administrator, Avery wrote Learning to Soar with his grandson, Matt; Truth, That Sticks with Mark Snowden; Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual with Jim Putman, Brandon Guindon, and Bill Krause; and Following Jesus Together with Real Life Ministries.

“Avery leaves a rich legacy in discipleship and sharing the Gospel around the world,” says Mike Miller, President of NavPress and Sr. Vice President of The Navigators. “We are privileged to have worked with him on so many wonderful resources to help Christians grow in their relationship with God. He will be greatly missed.”

Author Melody Carlson is passionate about writing about the challenges and struggles young adults face, and her readers have responded by making her one of the Christian products industry’s leading novelists. Her books have been finalists and winners of various writing awards, including The Gold Medallion, The Christy, and The Rita Award.

Carlson’s TrueColors series, which focuses on hard-hitting issues such as suicide, addiction, and cutting, continues to top NavPress’ bestsellers list with more than 350,000 copies sold. Carlson’s edgy, new Secrets series promises to follow in TrueColor’s footsteps.

Secrets is a fiction series that delves into the lives of teens whose secrets can make or break them. These realistic books offer readers hope by helping them discover that solid faith, loyal friends, and a persistent spirit will see them through rough times.

“All teens have secrets—many are happy secrets, but some are not,” explains Carlson. “My hope is that my new series will help readers to realize that undisclosed heartbreaks are best healed when brought into the

In Forgotten, the first book in the Secrets series, teenager Adele is forced to grow up quickly when she becomes homeless and tries to conceal it from her classmates. It releases Aug. 1.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Student Leadership University announced a new partnership with NavPress at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on July 16 to promote ERLC's Josiah Road initiative.

Find out more about it.

NavPress, a leader in discipleship and Scripture-memory resources, debuted the VerseMinder Topical Memory System iPhone application on iTunes.

Based on the popular Topical Memory System (TMS) developed by The Navigators, VerseMinder Topical Memory System marks a first-of-its-kind development for NavPress. With 60 verses in the NIV, NASB, KJV, and NKJV versions, all organized by topics, this app helps users memorize Bible verses in the translation of their choice and at their own pace.

“NavPress is excited to make our Scripture memory system available for a mobile device.  We believe in the truth and sufficiency of Scripture for the whole of life and are committed to translating that belief into new tools in this digital age,” says Michael Visentine, NavPress COO.  “We are currently looking into additional mobile platforms and plan on launching more apps in the future.”

VerseMinder Topical Memory System is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and doesn’t need an Internet connection. It requires .5 MB and iOS 3.0 or later.

It retails for $3.99 at iTunes.

More than 800 years ago St. Francis of Assisi single-handedly altered the spiritual and political climate of his time. Today, Chasing Francis, a captivating book that examines the lessons the saint can teach contemporary Christians, has received an endorsement from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.

“I’ve now read it twice and found it equally compelling both times. It’s a challenging, disarming, and delightful book, and the vision behind it is a serious one. It’s a remarkable book,” says Dr. Williams.

This significant endorsement carries great weight in the Episcopal Church and has sparked a renewed interest in Chasing Francis, which is a creative and compelling hybrid of fiction, theology, and historical biography. The first book by musician Ian Morgan Cron, Chasing Francis masterfully weaves actual accounts of St. Francis' radical impact on the world into the fictional story of a New England minister on a pilgrimage to regain his faith.

Listen to Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams’ address at the “Fresh Expression: Changing the Landscape” conference in which he summarizes the plot of Chasing Francis; discusses the five principles the book emphasizes for the church: transcendence, community, beauty, dignity, and meaning; and explains why he is recommending it. (Begin at minute mark 23:00.)