'Jesus Calling' devotional tops bestselling Christian books of 2012

Jesus Calling, a devotional encouraging readers to seek Jesus' peace and presence, written by Sarah Young was the bestselling book among Christian retailers last year, according to Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

The trade organization comprised of evangelical publishers on Thursday announced the bestselling Christian books of 2012 using sales statistics from Christian retail and general outlets.

Heaven Is for Real, a story of a boy's visit to heaven and back as told to Todd Burpo, was the bestselling Christian book in general outlets, while Young's Jesus Calling came in second for that category.

Different editions of Jesus Calling also placed in the Top 10 among Christian and general retail outlets.

"We congratulate all the authors and publishers on these lists for their tremendous success in the marketplace this past year," ECPA President/CEO Mark Kuyper said in a statement. "Nowhere is our mission more evident -- to make the transforming Christian message more widely known – than in the sales success of these excellent titles."

ECPA, which organizes an awards event for Christian books each year, made the bestselling lists using data from retail stores and websites across the U.S. using Pubtrack sales data.

The Top 10 books sold in Christian retail outlets were:

1. Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
2. Be a Better Dad Today! by Gregory Slayton (Gospel Light)
3. Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
4. Jesus Calling, Large-Print Deluxe Edition by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
5. The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn, (Charisma Media)
6. Jesus Calling, Deluxe Edition by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
7. Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman (Zondervan)
8. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan)
9. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zondervan)
10.The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Moody Publishers)

The Top 10 Christian books sold from multiple retail channels were:

1. Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
2. Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
3. The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn (Charisma Media)
4. Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman (Zondervan)
5. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan)
6. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zondervan)
7. Jesus Today by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
8. Jesus Calling for Kids by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
9. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Moody Publishers)
10. Heaven Is for Real for Kids by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson Publishers)

The full list of Top 50 Christian Bestsellers can be viewed at www.ChristianBookExpo.com/bestseller/bestof2012.

.

.

Copyright © 2013 Ecumenical News