May-June 2009

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Don't Cop Out!

In the world’s third most populous democracy—237 million people strong—Indonesian voters wield significant power. But many people, including Christians, continue to view government as corrupt and abstain from voting. Since the nation’s democratic transition from three decades of dictatorship in 1998, this July’s presidential elections are only the third in which citizens can vote.

Don’t Cop Out! Let’s participate—speak out and vote was released in February by Bina Kasih Press to urge Indonesia’s Christians to participate in national issues. “A new political awareness is replacing public apathy and people are being encouraged to vote. But it is not clear they know why they should vote,” says general manager Yunita Harahap.

Authors John Stott and Yonky Karman offer insights on how Christians can and should shoulder responsibility as citizens. Stott’s chapters, reprinted from his book, Issues Facing Christians Today, offer a biblical framework for responding to difficult moral and social problems, including religious pluralism. Yonky Karman, a seminary professor and former columnist for the country’s leading newspaper, urges Indonesians to exercise their political rights.

One bookstore called Don’t Cop Out! the only title that has helped prepare people to vote intelligently in this year’s elections.

Bruna Terešak and her husband, Davor, founded STEPress in their native Croatia in 1997. Challenged by the nation’s tiny Protestant market—less than one percent of the population—they’ve also been reaching secular and Catholic readers.

How do you reach a variety of markets?
We mostly produce Christian books for the general market, nearly all of Croatia’s 4 million people. We always strive to publish books that are culturally relevant and packaged for both general and church market, not a simple task. We consider the general market as readers in whom our books can awaken their spiritual need.

STEPress became the first Christian publishing house in Croatia to sell books in secular bookstores. Since then other Christian publishers have started to do so.

What about the Protestant market?
In the 1990s, most people did not even think of buying a Christian book. They were used to getting books for free from foreign mission organizations and considered it outrageous if you charged them. Moreover, they did not read much. In the last decade, churchgoers have started to read—and buy—Christian books. We like to think that STEPress has contributed, at least a bit.

What topics do you focus on?
We've published books about parenting, learning, time management, self-help books, fiction for adults and teenagers, children's books and picture books. We've also published theology.

Tell us about a recent title.
No local author has written a book with a Gospel message specifically for cancer patients in Croatia. So, we translated British author [and MAI-Europe Trustee] Marion Stroud's book, Face to Face with Cancer. The book includes tons of useful advice for patients, but also focuses on the emotional side of illness, which is overlooked in other cancer books here. And it talks about life in Christ. We added relevant information for Croatians at the end about health insurance, useful websites, cancer clinics, hospice and more.

What’s in store for STEPress’s future?
Our new project is an Internet bookstore, where we'll be selling titles from STEPress as well as other Christian publishers. This will be the first Internet bookstore in Croatia for readers to select from all the quality Christian titles in one place. This will also give us a new source of revenue.
 
We still need space for storing other publishers' books and face a number of other unresolved issues. So please pray for this future online bookshop.