Where the Industry Does Business
Before any business is done , CPE begins with a time of morning devotions . On Monday morning , Dr . Naomi Cramer Overton , General Editor of Every Woman ’ s Bible ( Tyndale House Publishers ) shared a personal message to illustrate the importance of helping women see their story in God ’ s story .
The show floor opened Monday morning with 14 vendors exhibiting at CPE for the very first time !
Abundance Books , Airstrike , Alegria Accessories , Baxter & Me , Brave Books , burton + Burton , Image of God , In His Word , Miracle in a Manger , Paper Baristas , Revelator Games , Sanctuary Girl , Sheformar International and Versible .
After a long day of shopping , we enjoyed dinner while Operation Christmas Child speaker Dania Yadago Andraos shared her full circle story as a shoebox recipient and how she came to now work for Operation Christmas Child . Justin Earley , author of Made for People ( HarperCollins Christian Publishing ), used God ’ s Word and stories of his time as a missionary in China to remind us to focus on the fact that God is with us .
Dania Yadago Andraos
The evening was in full swing with a Roaring 20s dessert and dancing party to celebrate CPE ’ s 20th anniversary ! Attendees came dressed in their 1920s finest and danced the night away to the stylings of Gwen Hughes and the Retro Jazz Katz . Ann Wilson won the contest for the best “ Charleston ,” Rachel Savage won the best dressed and Valery Sykes won the award for best dancer .
“ CPE is well worth the time and money investment because of the sharing with other retailers , interaction with vendors and the encouragement of being with like-minded Christians .”
TJ ’ s Christian Bookstore , Cedar Falls , IA
Tuesday morning opened with devotions by Harvest House Publisher ’ s author Jerrad Lopes , as The Skit Guys roasted him for his hobby of napping ( since his newest release is titled Dad Tired ). Jerrad talked about going the extra mile even when it ’ s hard , because you never know who needs it . He encouraged us to talk with those around us in any situation we are placed in . By being willing to listen , people will open up , and you just might be a blessing to them in that very moment .
The show floor closed on Tuesday with 2,146 orders reported from stores who turned in orders for CPE ’ s reimbursement program . That ’ s up 289 orders from 2023 ! We also had a record number of retailers at this show — 120 stores registered to attend , compared to 74 in 2023 ! CPE gave away $ 2,500 in cash prize drawings to The New Covenant Bookstore , Dightman ’ s Bible Book Center , Dove Christian Supply and Born Again Bookstore .
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