Media Contact: Mark Kuyper, ECPA President/CEO, 480-966-3998, mkuyper@ecpa.org

Colorado Springs, Col., April 28, 2014 — For their exceptional contributions to the industry, ECPA President/CEO Mark Kuyper presented Jack Countryman and Brennan Manning (posthumously) the industry’s highest individual honor of a Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award on April 28 in Colorado Springs, at the ECPA Awards & Anniversary Banquet held opening night of the ECPA Leadership Summit at Focus on the Family.

JACK COUNTRYMAN is the founder of JCountryman® Gift Books, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. His 30-plus years in Christian publishing have allowed him the opportunity to help create and develop bestselling gift books such as God’s Promises® for Your Every Need, God’s Promises® for Men, God’s Promises® for Women, and God Listens. This year not only marks 20 million books sold, authored by Countryman, but also the 30th anniversary of the God’s Promises brand.

BRENNAN MANNING (1934-2013) spent his life helping others experience the reality of God’s love and grace. A recovering alcoholic and a former Franciscan priest, he walked a spiritual journey that took him down a variety of paths. He taught seminarians, spoke to packed arenas, lived in a cave while laboring with the poor in Spain, and ministered to shrimpers in Alabama. His unflinching honesty about himself as a ragamuffin, an imposter, and a man in search of the undeserved love of Jesus has encouraged millions of Christians who have grown weary along the way. Brennan is best known as the author of the contemporary classics The Ragamuffin Gospel, All Is Grace, Abba’s Child, Ruthless Trust, The Furious Longing of God, The Importance of Being Foolish, and Patched Together.

The Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by ECPA to an individual for their exceptional contributions to the Christian publishing industry and is named in honor of Charles “Kip” Jordon (1945-1997), beloved Christian publishing veteran of more than 25 years, and former publisher of Word Publishing. Former recipients include Billy Graham, Joni Eareckson Tada, John Stott, Bruce Ryskamp, Pat Zondervan, John Perkins, and Muriel Dennis.

For more information, and to view a list of past recipients, visit http://www.ecpa.org/?page=jordon.

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The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade organization, comprised of nearly 200 member companies worldwide, representing a combined revenue of nearly $1.4 billion. Since 1974, ECPA has strengthened Christian publishing by building Networking, Information, and Advocacy opportunities within the industry and across multiple channels so that our members can more effectively produce and deliver transformational Christian content.
For more information about ECPA: 480-966-3998, info@ecpa.org, www.ecpa.org.