Why Have a Book Table at your Retreat?

There are very few substitutes for spending time reading a good book.  And godly reading material is far superior to other forms of entertainment such as watching TV and surfing the web.  However, choosing reading material can be a challenge, especially when you cannot even go into a Christian bookstore and trust that what you come out with will be profitable and based on truth.  This is the reason that we like to have a book table at our retreats. We like to provide books that the women can trust to be Biblically sound.  A secondary goal is to make every effort to make those book as affordable as possible.

Establishing a book table does require some money to be spent up front; if done prudently, however, your profits will cover any cash outlay. The key is to estimate as closely as possible the number of books ladies will purchase and not overbuy. Choose books that are affordable, for the women have just spent money to attend the retreat. Your women have varied interests, so the book table should have some variety–Bibles, godly books for singles, marriage, parenting, devotionals, biographies of godly men and women, and even some Christian fiction that is uplifting. As our retreats have grown in size, we have expanded our offerings to include teen and children’s books. Scheduling time for book recommendations during the retreat schedule is a way of letting the women know what is available.

Back in our early days, when we had no budget for buying books up front, we established a relationship with a Christian bookstore, and they allowed us to take books on consignment for the weekend.