Western Initiative for Good Stewardship
in Publishing and Distribution

Here at Circuit Rider Books, we are frequently asked why it takes two to four weeks for us to deliver resources to you. It's the twenty-first century, so why do our delivery times sound more like those of the early- to mid-twentieth century?

As it turns out, we can explain this strange phenomenon. Before we can send a resource to you, we have to get it from our suppliers, and the vast majority of Mainline Protestant resources are kept only in warehouses east of the Mississippi River. This is convenient enough for those in the east, who get resources in three to five days, but the 1,500 to 3,000 mile distance between there and here means it takes a week — or even longer — before the book arrives at our offices unless we pay the exorbitant fees for express shipment by air.

This is poor stewardship of resources. The delays in getting items to you waste an irreplaceable resource (your time), and the transport of items on an ad hoc basis is an inefficient use of financial, physical, and natural resources.

There is a solution.

While it is not practical for each of the mainline Protestant publishers to maintain a warehouse in the west, it is practical for Circuit Rider Books to provide a joint warehousing and distribution service in partnership with all of the mainline Protestant publishers. Under our proposal, each publisher would provide a stock of frontlist titles (those published in the last six months) and permission to produce backlist titles (those published more than six months ago) on an on-demand basis. In addition to its usual services, Circuit Rider Books would ship books throughout the western United States on behalf of the publishers, putting the entire United States within three to five days of these resources.

But it won't happen without your help.

Your support is needed to make this vision a reality. Can you help find space to house this venture? Do you have money — even just a few dollars — to help pay for the POD machine and warehouse space? Even if all you can do is help spread the word to your congregation or friends in other mainline Protestant congregations, you can be a vital part of building the community that can bring this dream to life.