Zondervan is an international
Christian media
Christian media, sometimes referred to as inspirational, faith and family, or simply Christian, is a cross-media genre that features a Christian message or moral. Several creative studios and mass media formats are considered to be aspects of C ...
and publishing company located in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
. Zondervan is a founding member of the
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...
(ECPA). They are a part of
HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. and has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. Zondervan is the commercial rights holder for the
New International Version
The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest an ...
(NIV) Bible in North America. Their theology is generally dispensational as opposed to covenant theology. Their logo is often the three-fold flame instead of the classic 'Z'. They are owned by one of the largest conglomerates in the mainstream media, and according to the Zondervan website, they are the largest Christian publisher.
History
Zondervan was founded in 1931 in
Grandville, MI, a suburb of
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, by brothers Peter ("P.J.", "Pat") and Bernard (Bernie) Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher
William B. Eerdmans. The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse and originally dealt with selling
remainders and publishing
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
works.
The first book it published was ''Women of the Old Testament'' by
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper (; ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...
, in 1933. Within a few years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
editions. The
Berkeley Version
The Berkeley Version is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published by Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member ...
appeared in 1959, and the
Amplified Bible
''The Amplified Bible'' (AMP) is an English language translation of the Bible produced jointly by Zondervan and The Lockman Foundation. The first edition as a complete volume was published in 1965. “Amplifications” are words or phrases int ...
in 1965. The
New International Version
The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest an ...
New Testament was published in partnership with the
International Bible Society
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* International (New Order album), ' ...
in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978. The company was bought by
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, a division of
News Corp
News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...
, in 1988, and is the company's principal Christian book publishing division.
Scott Macdonald
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...
was appointed President and CEO in May 2011.
Zondervan also publishes many other books by
Christian authors focusing on topics of interest to Christians. In the 1970s it published ''
The Late, Great Planet Earth
''The Late Great Planet Earth'' is a best-selling 1970 book by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan. ''The New York Times'' declared it to be the bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s. The book was first feature ...
'' by
Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) – known as Hal Lindsey – is a best-selling American evangelical writer. He is a Christian Zionist, a dispensationalist and a television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beg ...
, which has sold more than 30 million copies. They are also known for the Bible storytelling books of
Ethel Barrett
Ethel Barrett (December 28, 1913 – May 10, 1998) was a prolific Christian writer, speaker, and storyteller, whose popularity peaked between the early 1950s and the mid-1980s. She sold millions of copies of over 40 different books for publish ...
, ''Joni'' by
quadriplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...
Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Eareckson Tada (born October 15, 1949) is an evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community".
Early life
Joni Eareckson was b ...
, Baptist minister and author
Rick Warren
Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American Southern Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Lake Fore ...
's ''
The Purpose Driven Life
''The Purpose Driven Life'' is a bible study book written by Christian pastor Rick Warren and published by Zondervan in 2002. The book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey and presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for h ...
'', which has sold more than 35 million copies, and ''Sacred Marriage, ''by
Gary Thomas. In 2004, Zondervan expanded to include
Renee Altson,
Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne (born July 11, 1975) is a Christian activist and author who is a leading figure in the New Monasticism movement and one of the founding members of the non-profit organization, The Simple Way, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Claibo ...
, Sarah Raymond Cunningham and
Margaret Feinberg
Margaret Feinberg is an author and public speaker based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She creates books, Bible studies, and video curriculum aimed at people of faith.
Biography
Feinberg's father was a Jewish convert to Christianity. She spent the fi ...
, authors writing for
young readers.
The children's arm of the company
Zonderkidz
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...
published ''
The Jesus Storybook Bible
''The Jesus Storybook Bible'' is a children's Bible written by ''New York Times'' bestselling author Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago from Cornwall. The first edition was published in 2007 by Zonderkidz, the children's arm of American Chr ...
'' in 2007, written by
Sally Lloyd-Jones
Sally Lloyd-Jones is a British children's book writer.
Background
Lloyd-Jones was born in Kampala, Uganda and studied Art History with French at University of Sussex and Paris-Sorbonne University. She is not related to the famous minister Mart ...
and illustrated by
Jago Jago may refer to:
People
* Jago, an alternate spelling for Iago
* Jago (name), a Cornish name
* Jago (illustrator) (born 1979), book illustrator
* Jago of Britain, a legendary king of the Britons
* Fred W. P. Jago (fl. 1838–1892), scholar of t ...
it has sold in excess of 2 million copies in 19 languages.
The NIV Zondervan Study Bible was released in 2015 during the 50th anniversary of the New International Version (NIV) translation. The
study Bible
A study Bible is an edition of the Bible prepared for use by a serious student of the Bible. It provides scholarly information designed to help the reader gain a better understanding of and context for the text.
History
Perhaps the first editi ...
, edited by Dr. D. A. Carson, features over 60 evangelical contributors from multiple denominations.
Recording business
Zondervan was in the Christian
record
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
business for many years with the Singspiration and Zondervan Victory labels in the 1960s, Singcord in the 1970s, and the Milk & Honey Records label, starting in the late 1970s.
In 1980, Zondervan and Paragon Associates bought Christian record label
Benson Records
Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, R ...
in a partnership to own and operate for $3 million.
The resulting company was (measured by sales) one and a half times the size of its closest competitor,
Word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...
.
Zondervan bought out Paragon in 1983, and eventually sold Benson to
Zomba Label Group
RCA/Jive Label Group was a short-lived American record label group, owned by Sony Music Entertainment and representing the merger of the RCA Music Group and Jive Label Group. The umbrella group was formed in 2007 under the name BMG Label Group, ...
in 1993, now a part of
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
.
Pradis
Pradis was the trademarked name for Zondervan's native format for biblical software. On September 22, 2009,
Logos Research Systems, Inc, and Zondervan announced a new partnership, and the retirement of Pradis. Thirty-one titles were slated for availability in "early 2010" in the
LOGOS Bible Software
Logos Bible Software is a digital library application developed by Faithlife Corporation.It is designed for electronic Bible study. In addition to basic eBook functionality, it includes extensive resource linking, note-taking functionality, and ...
format.
References
External links
Zondervan
{{Authority control
Book publishing companies based in Michigan
Christian mass media companies
Evangelical Christian publishing companies
Companies based in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Publishing companies established in 1931
1931 establishments in Michigan
HarperCollins books
Protestantism in Michigan
News Corporation subsidiaries
Religion in Grand Rapids, Michigan