Founded in 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) is an American

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of Christian books located in Westmont,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. IVP focuses on publishing Christian books that speak to important cultural moments, provide tools for spiritual growth, and equip pastors, professors, and ministry leaders in their work.

History

Beginning Years

InterVarsity Press began just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a small service branch of the

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...

campus ministry, which had its beginnings in the 1939-1940 academic year. At its inception, InterVarsity Press solely imported books from the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship movement for use by college students and InterVarsity chapters in the United States. Its first home-grown publications was a Bible study guide called ''Discovering the Gospel of Mark'', written by an InterVarsity staff member and published in the 1933-1934 academic year. In 1947, a formal publishing program was established; its distribution of books was handled by

Fleming H. Revell Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...

until 1960.

Move to Chicago

In 1960, IVP's editorial offices moved from Havertown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where InterVarsity Christian Fellowship offices were then located. In 1966, offices were moved from Chicago to

Downers Grove Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I ...

, approximately 30 miles west.

Expansion

In 1968 Jim Nyquist became IVP's full-time director and Jim Sire became IVP's first full-time editor. Four other full-time employees filled out the staff. Shortly afterward, IVP began publishing

Francis Schaeffer Francis August Schaeffer (January 30, 1912 – May 15, 1984) was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, , a prolific autho ...

's works, beginning IVP's reputation as a publisher of note. In 1965, IVP launched the IVP Book Club and the bookstore Rack program in 1971, solidifying a sales base; these programs continue to be important parts of the publishing program. In 1984 Linda Doll moved from the editorship of HIS Magazine to the directorship of IVP. The next year LifeGuide Bible Studies were launched; they have now sold over 15 million copies. When Linda Doll decided to return to editing in 1990, Ken DeRuiter was appointed executive director. In that same year, the award-winning ''Dictionary of Christianity in America'' was released. While IVP had published several reference books created in

, ''Dictionary of Christianity in America'' was the first reference book published by IVP originating in the United States. In 1994 IVP published their first Bible, ''The NIV Quiet Time Bible''.

Recent Years and Present Day

In 1979, IVP built a warehouse and distribution center in Westmont,

. IVP relocated to new offices constructed adjacent to the distribution center in 1995. Two years later, following Ken DeRuiter's retirement, Bob Fryling joined IVP as its new director. ''Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength.'' by IVP editors Andy Le Peau and Linda Doll was written in 2006 as an anecdotal history of the publishing company, summarizing leading authors and books that shaped

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

in the 20th century. In 2016, after years of leadership as sales and marketing director, Jeff Crosby was named IVP publisher. Terumi Echols was named the president and publisher of IVP in September 2021.

Bibliography

*
Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. An Anecdotal History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2007
' by Andrew T. Le Peau and Linda Doll, InterVarsity Press, 2006, . *''For Christ and the University: The Story of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the U.S.A./ 1940-1990'' by Keith & Gladys Hunt, InterVarsity Press, 1991, .

References

External links

IVP-USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Intervarsity Press Evangelical organizations Evangelicalism in Illinois Christianity in Illinois Evangelical Christian publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1947 1947 establishments in Illinois 1947 establishments Companies established in 1947 Book publishing companies of the United States