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ore than 140 years ago Pacific Press was established to provide materials for the church’s outreach and nurture. That continues to be its mission today. As the publishing house for the North American Division, Pacific Press is committed to sharing the Seventh-day Adventist message of God’s love and His truth with the church in North America and around the world.
Tell the World About Jesus, a campaign initiated by Pacific Press in partnership with ASI, seeks to fulfill the commission of Ellen G. White that “God would be pleased to see The Desire of Ages in every home.”* This project underscores the sole purpose of Pacific Press—to uplift Jesus and publish the good news of His salvation and soon return. Since the start of the campaign in 2014, more than 97,000 copies of the book have found their way into homes across the United States, representing a 69 percent increase in demand over the previous year. Counting all editions, 124,000 copies of the life of Jesus classic sold last year, with sales predicted to hold steady.
Operating from its plant in Nampa, Idaho, Pacific Press has an annual income for its publishing house activities of almost US$20 million and has consistently produced a modest operating gain for each of the past 30 years.
Among the most widely used products printed at Pacific Press are the quarterly Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guides in four editions—standard, teacher’s, large-print, and easy reading—in both English and Spanish. The quarterly release of E. G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published in English and Spanish, is an adjunct study guide to the Adult Bible Study Guide. Additionally, the New Members Bible Study Guide, developed in conjunction with the General Conference Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department, consists of four quarterlies specifically geared toward discipling new members.
The Collegiate Quarterly (CQ), Bible study guides for young adults 19-24,is printed at the publishing house. Pacific Press also produces or distributes quarterly Bible study guides for many other language groups.
The outreach journals, Signs of the Times and El Centinela, remain key periodicals published at Pacific Press in the fulfillment of its mission to equip members with sharing literature. These journals, along with the children’s and youth magazines, Our Little Friend, Primary Treasure, Guide, and Insight, and other products, make Pacific Press Idaho’s single largest mailer—and one of its largest shippers.
To meet the needs of a rapidly changing, increasingly tech-savvy market, Pacific Press is expanding its product lines in several areas. A well-established publisher of books and educational materials for the church and Chapel Music, this line has evolved, in recent years, to include Chapel Media—with products including DVDs and software.
The publishing house, through its corporate Web site, PacificPress.com, has continued to expand into the Internet and e-commerce, with more than 1,600 e-books available on Adventist-eBooks.com (and new titles added each week). With ChapelMusic.com and AdventistBookCenter.com, the publishing house is adapting its materials for a changing world, finding new ways to fulfill its mission to the world church.
The Heritage Project is a long-term endeavor that aims to keep the legacy of our publishing ministry alive by providing out-of-print books to present and future generations as both short-run prints and in e-book format. With almost 500 titles currently available and another 1,400 in process, Heritage books include titles on church history, beliefs, Christian living, and mission stories.
The Pacific Press Publishing Association, established in 1874, reaffirms that its sole purpose is to uplift Jesus Christ in communicating biblical teachings, health principles, and family values—in many languages—through various types of printed materials, video products, software, electronic products, and recordings of Christian music.
*Ellen G. White, The Publishing Ministry (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1983), p. 357.
