Where the Industry Does Business
On August 2 – 4, Christian Product Expo( CPE) Summer 2026 brought the Christian retail industry together for several days filled with business, encouragement, education and— perhaps most importantly— relationships. Retailers, publishers, vendors, authors and industry partners gathered at the St. Charles Convention Center with a shared commitment to strengthen Christian retail and help stores continue their vital ministry in communities across the country.
This year’ s CPE carried a special theme of“ Faith and Freedom” in recognition of America’ s 250th anniversary. Throughout the event, attendees celebrated faith, freedom and the Christian heritage that has helped shape our nation. It was a fitting backdrop for an industry whose stores continue to provide places where customers can find resources that strengthen their faith, encourage families and share the gospel.
Encouraged and Refreshed For this show, we did something a little different at the Saturday night welcome reception. In keeping with our show’ s patriotic theme and location in the St. Louis area, which was home to the 1904 World’ s Fair, we had our very own CPE Fair— complete with a petting zoo, carnival food and games and a pie eating contest with the Munce Group staff. And for the main event, an exclusive outdoor concert with the evening’ s headliner— renowned speaker, author and recording artist Tammy Trent. Even the rain couldn’ t damper Tammy’ s infectious energy and sunny disposition. After her performance, guests took a swing at launching Adam Dalton from David C Cook and Ian Dutcher from Tyndale House Publishers into the dunk tank. It was truly an evening we won’ t forget.
One of the best parts of the show is starting each day with a time of worship all together. We are so thankful that Babbie Mason, two-time Dove Award-winning singer, songwriter, author and speaker, honored us by leading music every morning.
Brant Hansen was a highlight of Sunday’ s Praise & Worship gathering. Known for his humor, honesty and refreshingly direct approach, Brant connected with attendees in a way that was both entertaining and deeply encouraging.
Annie F. Downs
Monday morning continued that spirit of encouragement with New York Times bestselling author, speaker and podcast host Annie F. Downs joining attendees for devotions. Hearing how Annie grew up in her grandmother’ s bookstore was not only a relatable anecdote but also a fun fact not many know about her. She even brought her first edition copy of Christy to share with us, which is the book that made her want to be an author( something that I could also identify with, since that is the book I was named after)!
Glenna Marshall
Brant Hansen
On Tuesday morning, Glenna Marshall reassured us that if our book collection seems out of control, we are not hoarders, we just need more shelves! Again, Glenna was someone who was easy to connect with, yet honest enough to drive home the fact that we do not need to worry or hold on to things too tightly because God’ s got us. We are thankful to Moody Publishers for their sponsorship and for bringing Glenna to the show to start our day!
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www. christianretailassociation. org / CRA today 21