Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become Like Him. Do As He Did (WaterBrook) has been named Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. The latest bestseller by John Mark Comer, a pastor who set out to organize his church around directly emulating Jesus' teachings, leads a list of titles in 13 different categories honored Tuesday at the ECPA Leadership Summit in Nashville.
The Christian Book of the Year recognizes sales figures as well as the "cultural and spiritual conversations a book generates," ECPA president and CEO Jeff Crosby told PW, adding: "Comer's book is a very simple and profound construct. It's right there in the title. And as you get into the book you see how transformative the message is."
The event also featured the presentation of Pinnacle Award to Josh McDowell and to Kay Arthur, honoring their lifetime of work for Christian publishing, the church, and society. McDowell's ministries have reached millions around the globe and McDowell has written or coauthored 157 books, including two titles that have sold millions of copies: More Than a Carpenter (Tyndale House) and Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson).
Arthur, a speaker and award-winning Bible study author, is also the founder of Precept Ministries International, which has trained 250,000 Bible study leaders worldwide. She has written more than 100 books, including The New Inductive Bible Study, publishing with partners including Harvest House and WaterBrook & Multnomah.
In the book awards categories, Lysa TerKeurst took top honors for audio for the second year in a row. This time it was for writing and narrating her bestseller I Want to Trust You, But I Don't (Harper Audio and Thomas Nelson). In 2024, it was for Good Boundaries and Goodbyes (HarperCollins Children’s Audio and Thomas Nelson). Journalist Nancy French's won for biography and memoir, with Ghosted: An American Story (Zondervan) detailing her faith struggles, her career as a writer—including being a ghostwriter for politicians—and facing turmoil when Donald Trump's supporters turned against her.
Evangelist and performance artist Preston Perry's debut title How to Tell the Truth: The Story of How God Saved Me to Win Hearts—Not Just Arguments (Tyndale) won him the best new author award. The Christian Living category winner was Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life (Crossway) by Mark Vroegop, president of the Gospel Coalition and the author of the ECPA 2020 Christian Book of the Year.
All Creation Waits: Children's Edition by Gayle Boss and illustrated by Sharon Spitz (Paraclete) won for children's books, and the award for young people's literature went to The Action Bible: Faith in Action Edition, illustrated by Sergio Cariello (David C Cook). For the faith and culture category, the winner was national security expert Elizabeth Neumann's look at evangelicalism and right-wing conservatism Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace (Worthy).
All the winning titles in categories including devotion and gift, Bibles, biblical reference books, Bible studies, and ministry resources can be found here.
