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|  | Book Steward MinistryPlease select a link below Skills for Service Featured Products Gathering and Placing Orders for Your Customers Shipments to addresses other than the Book Steward Book stewards are the congregation's link to World Church resources. Book stewards are chosen by, and report to, the Pastor. They keep members informed of new publications, special products, or services that Herald House offers. Herald House is the publishing arm of the church. It is through the hard work and dedication of book stewards that the Church is able to keep in close contact with members and friends. Listed below are several key aspects of book steward ministry: PLAN. Effective book steward ministry will take effort and planning. Develop a plan for promoting resources with other congregational leaders, set goals that will enhance the lives of your members, and strive to reach those goals as a team. KNOW. Knowing the products will enable you to recommend material that meets the needs of individuals in your group. Keep up with what's new! Read the information that is published to aid you in learning about new resources. If possible, visit the Herald House website and the World Church site as well: www.heraldhouse.org and www.CofChrist.org SHARE. There are many different ways to share information about resources. These may include notices in weekly bulletins or newsletters. Another effective way to share information is to make a presentation before a worship service, training event, or congregational gathering. INVITE. Invite your members to purchase resources through you as their book steward. You accept cash and checks to your congregation and ask the CFO to draft one check to Herald House. Book Stewards are decision helpers and friendly sources of information. As the book steward, you are part of the team that is providing leadership to the congregation. Your team members, such as the pastor, youth director, and worship coordinator, can look to you for the resources they need for their ministry. You in turn can bring to their attention new resources and facilitate ordering material. Book stewards work closely with all congregational leaders but they should especially communicate frequently with the pastor. It is the pastor or pastorate who is ultimately responsible for recognizing the needs of the congregation. Many times these needs are met through study and exploration of resources that the book steward can recommend. The pastor is responsible for appointing the congregational book steward. Plan to meet with the leaders of your congregation. Explain how you can be of service as they set congregational goals. Review the activities planned for the next year and discuss which resources may be needed. These regular meetings give the book steward an opportunity to share information and order in advance needed materials. Develop with your leadership team an annual plan for sharing information about resources and for “hands-on” review of new material. You can then develop a weekly and monthly plan to help you reach your “resource sharing” goals. Listed here is a sample plan to help you set your own goals and develop a strategy that meets the needs of your members. Example of a Book Steward Ministry Annual Plan 1. Book Steward Ministry Defined for Our Congregation Book steward ministry for our congregation includes communication with leaders and members, about resources available, for personal and congregation growth. This includes ordering and delivery of materials from Herald House. 2. Identifying Our “Customers” Currently, members attending church on a regular basis comprise most of the buyers taking advantage of book steward ministry. We want to share our resources with friends of the church who visit or use our building. We also plan to have materials for sale at our booth this fall during “Fun Fest”. 3. Sales Goals for This Year We plan to increase our annual purchases by 25%. Part of this increase will come from purchases at the city’s fall “Fun Fest” where we plan to make $500 in sales. 4. Communication Tools Planned 5. Sharing our Ministry and Goals with the Congregation At each congregation business meeting, the book steward will report on promotion activities and sales. Sharing Information about Resources - Top Be available before and after services to answer questions and take orders. Most book stewards find it helpful to have a table in a central location. This allows space for taking orders. Tell your members about new resources by making a presentation. Different opportunities to do this may be before a Sunday morning worship service or priesthood meeting. Organize and practice what you plan to say about the material. Always talk with your pastor about setting a time when you can make this presentation. Whenever you meet with the members of your congregation whether on Sunday morning, family fun night, or church workday, be prepared to take an order or provide information. You will find it is helpful to keep a log of items that have been requested by your customers. List their name, phone number, item(s) ordered, and when you placed their order with Herald House. The following is a list of items to have on hand. Many book stewards keep these items in a bag or binder. 1. Order pad or log and pen Herald House would not be able to provide resources to the church membership as effectively as it does without the services of the congregation’s book stewards. From time to time it is a privilege to recognize the ministry you offer so willingly. Recognition is given for years of service and total sales. We want you to know that the work you do furthers the mission and goals of the church. Featured products on the Herald House website compliment resources found in the Herald and in the 10-Minute News Report. Check these information sites frequently to keep your members up-to-date. Statement Stuffers and Bulletin Inserts - Top Herald House continues to find ways to inform book stewards and church members about new product. From time to time information will be included with your statements. This information can be used in announcements or printed in the bulletin. Bulletin inserts are included in bulletin shipments every 6 months. This is an excellent way to reach each person who attends services. Book stewards should be aware of when bulletin inserts are planned to appear. You can pre-order copies of the recommended books or be ready to take orders. Website and E-mail Promotions - Top Electronically notifying book stewards about new product is the quickest way to share information. Opportunities for this type of communication are being expanded all the time. Currently you can register at www.heraldhouse.org to receive e-mail promotions for new and featured products. Gathering and Placing Orders for Your Customers - Top You will be taking orders for individuals and for congregational leaders. The following steps will walk you through the order process. When possible, use a 1. Write down the complete name and address of the person placing an order, and record the date the order was placed.
6. When possible, keep a copy of each order to track the sale through the delivery of product. A book steward log is provided to help you keep track of the orders you place for your members. We suggest you make copies of the log and create a notebook to record your orders. Customers can possibly save on shipping and handling charges if you gather multiple orders and have them shipped directly to you for you to distribute. Please be aware that prices on all products carried by Herald House are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain appropriate inventory levels; however, there will be times when we are out-of-stock on certain items. When you place an order for an item that is not immediately available you will receive an alert. We will automatically ship the item as soon as it becomes available. Hard to Find Herald House Titles - Top You may be asked to order a Herald House title that is not listed on the website. If you receive such an order, first call Customer Service and have them check to see if the title is available. You may be advised that the product is out of stock or out of print. If the item is not available there are two ways you might be able to obtain the title.
Community of Christ Library Supply your local library with the complete title, (ISBN if available) author’s name, and your own name and address. If you have any questions about this procedure, please contact Community of Christ Library. The Library is open Monday through Friday 8a.m.—5:00p.m. CST. New products may be found in the:
Product Shipment and Paperwork - Top After your order is received it is processed in the shipping department and will be shipped as quickly as possible. An invoice is mailed separately in an envelope. Shipments to addresses other than the Book Steward - Top Unless you request a different address, all orders are shipped to the book steward’s address. If you request orders to be shipped to someone else, you will receive the invoice in an envelope by itself and the shipment will include a packing list. Shipping and Handling rates - Top The following chart shows our current shipping and handling rates: $0.00 to $35.00 = $5.00 Orders are sent through the US Postal Service or UPS Ground. Depending on your location, packages will arrive within 7 to 10 days. We offer several choices for faster or “RUSH” delivery if it is desired. Please call Herald House Customer Service to get these rates and shipping options at the time you place your order. Herald House will accept returns and place a credit on your account for merchandise as long as the materials are in a re-salable condition and the book is still in print. Call Customer Service for a return authorization before returning the product. HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE Returns must be sent to the address below and should contain the following information: Herald House, Returns
If an error was made in fulfilling your order such as shipping the wrong title, incorrect quantity, or damaged merchandise, we will reimburse your account for the shipping cost that you incur to send the materials back to our warehouse. In addition we will credit the entire amount of your original purchase. Your return will generate a credit memo that will be mailed with your next monthly statement. If ordering the wrong item caused your return, or the person you ordered the item for changed their mind, Herald House will credit your account only for the value of the item. We will ask for our original shipping charges to be paid by the customer for whom you placed the order. HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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