Content - IVP Category

How IVP Fiction Can Grow You Spiritually

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:48:00 GMT

by Eva Pankratz, Publicity Coordinator

There’s no shortage of resources to choose from when it comes to spiritual growth. Books, podcasts, Bible studies—the list goes on. Maybe when you think of spiritual growth you think of a sermon, a meeting with a spiritual director, quiet time with Jesus, or your small group. Maybe you think of it with delight, or maybe it’s something that you secretly dread.

What if the fiction book you read for enjoyment also deepened your walk with Christ?

Christian Publishing Trends: 5 Books Readers Want to See in 2024

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 17:48:00 GMT

Christian Publishing Trends: 5 Books Readers Want to See in 2024

Fall Conferences Roundup: Noteworthy Titles from IVP Academic

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:48:00 GMT

Fall Conferences Roundup: Noteworthy Titles from IVP Academic

The World's Largest Missions Bookstore: IVP at Urbana 22

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:37:00 GMT

The World's Largest Missions Bookstore: IVP at Urbana 22

Spiritual Formation and Books: Reading as a Spiritual Practice

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 17:49:00 GMT

By Cindy Bunch, IVP Vice President, Editorial

How do we grow closer to God? How can we become more like him? How do we feel his presence in our lives?

The life of faith is full of these questions. As Christians, we desire to consistently grow in our relationship with God. Devoting ourselves to spiritual formation is one way that we can draw closer to God throughout our journey with Christ. But what does that look like?

When we began the IVP Formatio^® line in 2006, we chose the nautilus—one of the sea's oldest creatures—for our logo because of its rich symbolic meaning. Beginning with a tight center, its remarkable growth pattern can be seen in the ever-enlarging chambers that spiral outward. The nautilus represents the deep inward work of spiritual formation that begins rooted in our souls and then opens to the world as we experience spiritual transformation throughout the ups and downs of life. This is the process of being spiritually formed in the image of Christ.

Books are wonderful resources for our spiritual formation. As a spiritual practice, reading connects us with wise mentors from throughout the centuries.

What Is Spiritual Formation?

Scripture describes the process of our spiritual transformation: "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 2:3:16-18 NIV). Spiritual formation is a term that is used to describe this process of becoming more like Christ.

Within each of us is a longing to draw closer to God—a "God-shaped space," in Pascal's words. Spiritual formation is our lifelong journey of growing ever closer to God.

Robert Mulholland offers a four-part definition of spiritual formation in his book Invitation to a Journey: (1) a process (2) of being formed (3) in the image of Christ (4) for the sake of others. He writes, "Scripture is quite clear in its insistence that we have fallen short of God's purposes for our creation. It is equally clear in its revelation that God works graciously through all the aspects of human life to bring us to the fulfillment of God's will for our wholeness. Thus spiritual formation is a process of involvement with God's gracious work." As we are formed, we discover how we are uniquely created in the image of God and we uncover God's call for us in the world.

Spiritual practices create a context for our growth in Christ.

The Contemporary Spiritual Formation Movement

The growth of spiritual formation and spiritual practice in the evangelical Protestant world has its origins in a book. In 1978 Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline was first published and was a major influence. Foster taught twelve essential spiritual practices, such as meditation, fasting, and solitude, that date back to the early Christian church fathers and mothers but had been mostly forgotten by contemporary Christians.

Some Christians were confused by Foster's emphasis on Christian meditation, as the New Age movement was in full swing at this time, and IVP received some complaint letters due to our 1983 publication of a booklet by Foster called Meditative Prayer. While other forms of meditation focus on simply emptying the mind, what Foster was introducing was a type of prayer that includes listening for God's voice—both in times of silent reflection and in careful reading and rereading of Scripture. This type of prayer provides an anecdote to our human tendency to repeatedly tell God what we want without asking for God's guidance.

Foster's landmark book opened the way for a new spirituality movement. In collaboration with his close friend Dallas Willard (who authored The Spirit of the Disciplines in 1988), Foster founded Renovaré, a grassroots ministry that teaches spiritual formation practices. Willard's full story is compellingly told in the IVP biography authored by Gary Moon called Becoming Dallas Willard.

A Curriculum for Christlikeness

The Formatio line from IVP began with the vision of Willard and Foster in mind. We had already published Hearing God by Dallas Willard in 1999 and were able to bring it into our new line as a foundational book. In 2011 Foster revised and significantly expanded his Meditative Prayer booklet, and it is now available under the title Sanctuary of the Soul. We were also delighted that one of the inaugural books under the Formatio brand was Longing for God, which Foster coauthored with Westmont College president Gayle Beebe.

At the time that Renovaré was founded, Richard Foster was teaching at Friends University. One of his students was James Bryan Smith. Jim Smith became one of the early Renovaré leaders, teaching alongside his mentors Foster and Willard. Smith's The Good and Beautiful Series was his answer to Willard's request that he create a "curriculum for Christlikeness" to teach formational practices to contemporary lay people. At that time, Jim began the Apprentice Institute at Friends University, training the next generation in spiritual practices. The influence of Foster and Willard continues today with the 2022 release of the latest volume of Smith's series, The Good and Beautiful You.

A Rich History of Diversity

The contemporary Protestant movement of spiritual formation is sometimes regarded as being for the White church. But, of course, many of the church fathers, such as St. Augustine and Tertullian, were of African descent. In her book Soul Care in African American Practice, Barbara Peacock reveals how the spiritual practices she learned in her DMin program with Leadership Transformations Inc. at Gordon-Conwell are also a part of the African American Christian tradition. We learn about spiritual direction and lectio divina by exploring the life of Frederick Douglass, for example, and Peacock shares about how the life of Rosa Parks reflects the practices of meditation and contemplation.

One of the ways that reading contributes to our spiritual growth is through the opportunity to learn from the diversity of voices that make up the church. Books provide access to new spiritual mentors.

Reading and Spiritual Growth

Reading can be a meaningful spiritual practice, but reading books for spiritual growth is not about the number of pages covered. It's about what we take in. It's about connecting with God through the writer and finding a deep moment of insight, affirmation, or renewal. The introduction to the book Devotional Classics, edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, quotes Jean-Pierre de Caussade describing, "Read quietly, slowly, word for word to enter the subject more with the heart than the mind. . . . From time to time make short pauses to allow these truths time to flow through all the recesses of the soul."

Formational reading calls us into our deepest desires and helps us to become our true selves in the light of God's grace.

The Role of Community

Spiritual formation is not a solo journey. Ruth Haley Barton writes, "Spiritual transformation is not an end in itself but rather leads to the ability to discern and do the will of God (Romans 12:1, 2) and so a mission often emerges. But the mission grows out of our commitment to gather around the presence of Christ in life-transforming ways and to listen deeply for his direction in our lives. This is the essence of spiritual community as Jesus defines it (Mark 3:34, 35)." It's important to note, first, that this community experience is a critical part of formation, and second, that we are formed in order to reflect Christ in the world.

The need for community in the spiritual journey has led to the creation of many organizations offering teaching and training resources (both online and in person) in order to foster spiritual growth. For example, Renovaré offers an online book group experience with authors like Tish Harrison Warren (Liturgy of the Ordinary). And the Apprentice Institute offers an annual gathering featuring the contemporary leaders of the spiritual formation movement.

Books for Your Own Spiritual Formation Journey

Reading is an essential path to understanding God through the mentorship of writers both ancient and contemporary. A book written with the goal of shaping its readers spiritually has a unique set of qualities. As you start your own spiritual formation reading journey, look for books that

draw you into the very presence of God, causing you to want to pause to pray, meditate, and reflect, stirring both the head and the heart.
speak authentically of how the authors are addressing spiritual formation in their own lives while also pointing you to God and helping you see how you can relate to God in similar ways.
apply classic disciplines and practices to contemporary life.
reflect the history of Christian spirituality, drawing on writings going back to the church fathers and the saints of the Christian tradition.
include a biblical perspective with an appreciation for how the Word comes alive in the Spirit.
invite you to pursue God out of desire rather than duty.
provide a mentorship that feels like sitting down with a friend and talking about the spiritual life.

Recommended Resources for Spiritual Growth

There are countless resources that help Christians invest in their spiritual formation and growth. While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the organizations, leaders, and educational programs we have partnered with throughout our history, as well as some books we think will be meaningful mentors for you on your own spiritual journey.

Organizations and Leaders:

Educational Programs:

Explore Books for Spiritual Formation:

Browse all of IVP's spiritual formation and Formatio titles and check out the featured books below. You can also sign up for IVP's spiritual formation newsletter to hear from spiritual formation experts and learn about reflections and practices to try yourself.

Introducing Terumi Echols, IVP's New President & Publisher

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 20:23:00 GMT

Terumi Echols

Terumi Echols, previously IVP's director of finance and fulfillment operations, assumed the role of president and publisher of IVP in September 2021. Before coming to IVP, Echols worked for nearly two decades at Christianity Today International, with roles including chief publishing officer and publisher of Christianity Today. Read this interview to learn more about her story, her professional experience, and her vision for IVP's future. You can also read more in IVP's press release and in Christianity Today's profile on her career.

Where are you originally from?

Terumi Echols: I grew up on the south side of Chicago in a lovely neighborhood that, although it was surrounded by areas where there was a gang influence, people took care of their homes and looked out for each other. It was about a four-block square area, and I remember it as beautiful and very much like "it takes a village to raise a child." If you did something wrong, you could easily be punished by the mom two or three doors down from your house as you could by your own mom. Going to school had its challenges since as mixed raced children we did not easily fit into a specific group. We were not Caucasian enough or Black enough. My sister and I were often teased and had to fight our way home from time to time.

Who are some of the most important people in your life and how have they impacted you?

Echols: My mom is the most important person in my life because she is an overcomer. She was eighteen years old when she came from Japan. She had to learn to cook, clean, and take care of a family. My parents divorced when I was nine, and she had to go to work full time to take care of and provide for four kids. We didn't have a lot of things and sometimes food was scarce, but we didn't know it. As kids we thought we had enough to share with others. I get my driven nature from her. We actually went to college together for a while. She's so smart and computer savvy. She has taught me to persevere, to always take a learning posture, to be willing to try new things, and to make lemonade out of lemons. She also taught me that I had a responsibility for those who came after me. My work, my efforts, and how I behaved could impact the opportunities of the next Black person. I often say that when I grow up, I want to be like her.

Another person who has deeply impacted my life is my husband. He is the principal of a high school and encounters so many diverse issues that I am often amazed at the ease with which he handles them. He is a gifted listener, something who won me over when we were dating. He is an incredible example of a leader, and he is one of the best people managers that I know. He is my go-to person when I need advice or an ear to simply hear. I am truly blessed because he is the embodiment of everything that I prayed for when I prayed for a husband.

How did you get into publishing?

Echols: It was a bit of an accidental career. I was attending Wheaton Christian Center, and I had gotten to a point in my life where I wanted to use my gifts in ministry. Naively, I wasn't sure how God might use an accountant, but I prayed and told him that if he could find a way, I would be willing. Two or three days later, I saw a job listing for a business administrator (accountant) at Christianity Today, and the rest is history.

I moved throughout CT in various roles as God refined me and my skills, even becoming vice president of sales and publisher of what was called the Active Christians Media Group. My final role at Christianity Today was chief publishing officer and executive vice president. Each time I wondered, why me? God was so faithful, and he used each position to teach and mold me. As I look back over my career, I can see what he was doing. I could have missed it if I kept saying no. I have learned to be open to his plans and not mine, and to be willing to go where he directs.

How did you first come to IVP nearly four years ago?

Echols: Jeff Crosby [IVP's previous publisher] and I met at a meeting that included multiple editors and people within publishing roles to discuss how IVP and CT could address the changing landscape of publishing, including reaching more ethnically diverse audiences. Apparently, we were in a small group, and he remembered me from our table discussion. When he was preparing to become publisher, he was planning to reorganize and develop a new role, which would become the director of finance and fulfillment operation. We spoke off and on for over a year before the job description was finalized.

I took time to pray about the position and IVP since I had decided previously to "rest and retire." I applied and interviewed with numerous people. I have never undergone as many interviews as I did here at IVP. It gave me an opportunity to meet many of the people that I would interacting with day to day. I also met Audrey, who took the time to write Jeff a note about her encounter with me. In many ways, I credit Audrey as the person who made the final push of the "Let's hire her" arrow in my direction.

God was so faithful, and he used each position to teach and mold me. As I look back over my career, I can see what he was doing. I could have missed it if I kept saying no. I have learned to be open to his plans and not mine, and to be willing to go where he directs.

What have been some of the most rewarding experiences during your time at IVP?

Echols: The most rewarding experiences have been mentoring staff and helping them learn and grow, recognizing and seeing their potential in areas that they may not see, challenging them, and walking alongside them to reach a goal.

What attracted you to the publisher/president position at IVP, and what led to your decision to apply for the role?

Echols: Originally, I did not consider the position because I had previously been a publisher and understood the rigors of the role, and God's direction seemed unclear. It is extremely important for me to feel led by him. I have found that it allows me to do my best work.

I had a few people ask if I planned to apply, and my response was no. I also had several people that I respected request that I apply for the position. Again, I said no, and then later thought I should remain open to God's leading while in my mind still thinking no. My husband also said no when I told him about the requests. Slowly, I believe God began working on both of us. A friend and colleague discussed the what if's with me, and she suggested that I use the application and interviews as a part of my discernment process. I was beginning to waiver, and my husband changed his mind out of nowhere. He told me he thought I should apply for the position, so I did.

The entire selection process, interviews, and reference checks were managed well by Carter Baldwin. They asked probing questions both about my background, skills, and management style. My prayer after each step was "Lord, you know what IVP needs, and I want what's best for IVP and its staff whether it is me or someone else. If it is me, make it clear. If it isn't me, help me to serve you well and support the person you choose to the very best of my abilities."

The most rewarding experiences have been mentoring staff and helping them learn and grow, recognizing and seeing their potential in areas that they may not see.

What is your hope for IVP in the next five years?

Echols: I have so many hopes for IVP. I will only name a few.

First, I hope IVP will be a place where people flourish. I want the staff to feel encouraged in their work and to find joy in what they do. We all have things within our roles that we do not like doing, but it is my hope that everyone finds enough of what they like doing to come back to work each day energized and engaged.

Next, I hope to create an environment of authenticity where we collaborate well, are willing to have disagreements and work toward solutions, and learn to forgive hurts quickly, understanding that we will make missteps in how we communicate with one another, and each of us is better when we work toward our goals a cohesive community.

I hope to create an organic structure that will help release potential for growth throughout IVP. We need to adapt and evolve as a ministry and find ways to identify and release the innovator in each of us.

I also hope to continue to see us expand IVP's reach. I want to us to serve all churches and do more with and for minority churches by finding ways to build relationships and partner with them. We need to be open-handed and learn from each other. These relationships will take time because we need to build trust, so we must learn to be patient and invest ourselves without focusing on a one-year or two-year ROI.

Next, I hope to expand IVP's reach internationally. I like the idea of translations, but my dream would be to have IVP books in every English-speaking country.

It is my hope that IVP would be a leader and a beacon to others in publishing.

Finally, IVP has so much to offer. It is my hope that IVP would be a leader and a beacon to others in publishing. It is my hope that God will use the men and women here to create change in the church, to challenge, educate, and guide the body of Christ. In my mind, IVP can be a catalyst for peace, understanding, and reconciliation. How great would that be?

How IVP Joined the Ebook Era

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:25:00 GMT

The ebook era was predicted long before it arrived. A post on Government Book Talk, the blog of the United States Government Printing Office, notes that a writer named Bob Brown wrote a book—in 1930!—describing his concept for “readies” [/reed-eeze/] using the same technology that enabled the “talkies” in that era. But it wasn’t until 1971 that Michael Hart launched Project Gutenberg and digitized the United States Declaration of Independence, creating the world’s first ebook. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, two pioneering companies published books on CD-ROM (The Voyager Company) and floppy disk (Digital Book, Inc.). And then, in 1998, two ebook readers were launched: Rocket Ebook and Softbook.

Experimental Beginnings

This is where InterVarsity Press joins the story. IVP was the first Christian publisher to make books available on a dedicated ereader, working with NuovoMedia to prepare five titles for their Rocket Ebook device. The ereader had an LCD screen, and it could hold up to ten ebooks at a time (which were uploaded to the device from a computer). The ereader was sold through Barnes & Noble, Powells, and other stores. But Rocket Ebooks didn’t catch on with the book-reading public, and, along with several other early ereading devices, they eventually disappeared.

Early 2000's

IVP entered the CD-ROM-based ebook marketplace in 2000, partnering with IVP/UK to produce The Essential Reference Collection for the Logos platform. This stream within ebook publishing was very successful, and IVP produced several more CD-ROM titles with Logos during that decade.

Then, during the momentous year of 2001, several events occurred that catalyzed IVP’s ebook experimentation:

Our Sales and Marketing department hired its first internet and special markets sales manager
Our Editorial department hired its first associate editor of electronic publishing
IVP's executive leadership team established the "E-team," pulling together these two new staff positions with others from design, information technology, and production to brainstorm, collaborate, and advance action on the IVP website, electronic rights, ecommerce, CD-ROMs, and ebooks

By the end of that year, the E-team had produced and launched for sale on IVP’s website Islam: A Christian Introduction, a stand-alone chapter taken from a larger text, Neighboring Faiths, by Winfied Corduan. We offered the title in five ebook formats: HTML, PDF, PRC (MobiPocket Reader), PDB (Palm Doc), and LIT (Microsoft Reader). In addition to being IVP’s first home-grown, directly-sold ebook, it was also meant to educate Christians about Islam, since so many questions were being asked and so much misinformation being spread in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

In a time when ebooks were mainly read on desktop or laptop computers or on handheld PDAs (personal digital assistants), Islam: A Christian Introduction did very well—selling more than 1,000 copies.

IVP was in auspicious company in the early 2000s, as forward-thinking writers like Stephen King, industry-leading publishers like Random House and HarperCollins, and entrepreneurial tech companies like Sony launched experiments in digital reading. But it wasn’t until 2007, when Amazon launched its Kindle ebook reader, that the long-predicted ebook era finally seemed to dawn. On the heels of Amazon’s breakthrough ereading device came Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Apple’s iPhone, and Sony/Overdrive’s network enabling library lending for ebooks.

To take quickest advantage of the opportunity presented by the Kindle, IVP sent a pallet of 500 titles to Amazon, allowing them to scan and convert the printed books into the proprietary file format that was used by their first-generation ereaders. In July 2008, we got our first sales report and payment: we earned $32.96 on sales of 5 ebook files.

By 2009, IVP’s E-team was replaced with a dedicated digital publishing department, and this team was charged with rapidly scaling a program to digitize new titles as they were launched, to digitize as many “backlist” titles as possible, and to establish sales and distribution partnerships with ebook retailers serving consumers, academic institutions, and libraries, both in the US and abroad. The digital publishing department received help from nearly every other part of IVP, especially the information technology team. Once, even an IVP reader and fan assisted these efforts, donating ebook files he had created for Calvin Miller’s classic gospel retelling, The Singer.

Along the way, we heard from a variety of pastors, missionaries, students, professors, businesspeople, and many others about the ways that ebooks were making their ministry or work more effective, making periods of travel more fruitful, making sight disabilities or physical book storage limitations more manageable, and on and on. It was clear that, while they will never replace print books, ebooks do help IVP to more fully achieve its mission—reaching and serving those in the university, the church, and the world by publishing resources that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life.

2010 to Today

During the last decade, demand for ebooks from IVP has continued to grow strongly. In 2016, we integrated into our core departmental structures and processes the last elements of the digital publishing program. Now digital publishing is just a part of what we all do, whether in editorial, design, rights, production, marketing, sales, accounting, fulfillment, or customer service. You’ll find IVP ebooks nearly everywhere, from consumer retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book Distributors, Apple iBookstore, Google Play), academic retailers (Follett, Chegg, VitalSource), library retailers (Overdrive, EBSCO, Ebrary), international retailers (Amazon, Kobo, Christian Arts), and unique channels (Logos, OakTree, Laridian, ReadHowYouWant).

And the ebook era has really just begun. Stay tuned with us to see what happens next!

(Note: See Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. An Anecdotal History of InterVarsity Press, 1947-2007 for more detail on the history of this era.)