Where 170 Christian Bookstores' Worth of Discovery Goes Now

Lifeway closed all 170 of its brick-and-mortar Christian bookstores. The Southern Baptist Convention's publishing entity had been the largest Christian retail chain in the country for decades. Baptist Press called the closures a "great loss." For Christian fiction authors, the loss is structural.

What Lifeway provided wasn't just shelf space. It was vetting. A book that landed in Lifeway had been through a doctrinal review and a buyer's read. For a pastor's wife or a Sunday school teacher looking for something to read, "we carry it at Lifeway" was a real signal. That signal is gone, and nothing has replaced it at scale.

Where Christian fiction discovery is happening in 2026:

• Christianbook.com. The largest remaining Christian e-commerce site. Algorithm-driven, which means metadata and category placement matter more than they did at Lifeway.
• Church bookstores. Larger churches still operate small bookstores, often run by volunteers. They buy through Spring Arbor Distributors or directly from publishers. Local-author relationships still convert.
• Sunday school curriculum and small-group studies. A book sold to a single church for a 12-week study sells 50 to 200 copies. Multiple churches scale that fast.
• Faith-based BookTok. The Christian fiction creators on TikTok have outsized reach against a smaller audience. Sarah Sundin, Jaime Jo Wright, and Michelle Griep have benefited.
• Speaking and conference circuits. A book sells well at the back of the room when the author is on the stage. ECPA conferences, women's retreats, and writing conferences move real volume.

What this means for authors deciding between a Big Five Christian imprint and a hybrid publisher in 2026: the distribution advantage of the Big Five is smaller than it was. Tyndale and Bethany House have great relationships with what's left of Christian retail. They don't have a 170-store chain anymore either.

The authors moving fastest are the ones who built a direct relationship with their readers and don't depend on retail discovery. Email lists, podcasts, church speaking, and Substack are the new front porch.