Baker Publishing Group Celebrates 75 Years
Grand Rapids-based Baker Publishing Group is celebrating its 75th anniversary in April, a major milestone for the family-owned business that began with a small bookstore on Wealthy Street and is now one of the best-known Christian book publishers.
“Our vision to serve the needs of the church has remained unchanged from the beginning,” said Dwight Baker, CEO and president of Baker Publishing Group. “From my grandfather Herman Baker to my father Rich Baker and to me, that vision guides us as we continue to watch for opportunities to serve the church.”
Back to the beginning
Herman Baker was 14 when he and his family emigrated from the Netherlands. The oldest son of Ricco (Richard) and Jenny Kregel Baker quickly found part-time work in the bookstore owned by his uncle, Louis Kregel. Baker’s work in that small Christian bookstore fueled his dream to start his own.
Herman Baker opened Baker Book House in 1939 at 1019 Wealthy St. He paid $18 a month rent and put his 500 used books on homemade shelves. By 1949, Baker Book House was among the largest distributors of new and used religious books in the U.S. and around the world. Orders came from as far away as Korea, South Africa and Hungary, as well as from the next block.
Baker ventured into publishing just a year after opening the store, in 1940 publishing “More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation” by Calvin Seminary professor Dr. William Hendriksen. That book is still in print today.
Baker Book House, both store and publishing arm, expanded through the decades, moving into all of the rooms at 1019 Wealthy St., which Baker had purchased. Eventually the building became too small, so the publishing arm of the company moved to a 25,000-square-foot facility on Fulton Street in the 1960s. That building has been expanded three times and is still home to the business.
Baker Book House eventually opened six additional stores around West Michigan, including three in Breton Village Mall. Only the original store on Wealthy Street continued to sell used books, but even that location became too small. The store was closed and moved to the present location on East Paris Avenue in 1980. Eventually all the bookstores save the main store were closed.
Baker Book House recently underwent a million-dollar renovation that turned it into a destination for Christian book buyers, used book aficionados, author events, artists, and those needing meeting space. About 90,000 used books are stocked in the store.
“The renovation put the store at a high profile in the community,” said Sue Smith, store manager. “The statement made with this renovation was two-fold: to let people know we’re grateful for the first 75 years of service to Grand Rapids, and also to make clear that we are here to stay. This is still Herman Baker’s store and I am keenly aware of that on a daily basis as I care for the deep heritage he left.”
Baker’s influence remains strong
Herman Baker’s heritage includes a company that has grown and remained vital through the years. Herman Baker retired in 1987 and his son Richard Baker became president. Richard Baker expanded the company when he purchased the Fleming H. Revell Company and Chosen Books. Richard’s son Dwight Baker became president in 1997 and brought Brazos Press and Bethany House Publishers under the Baker umbrella.
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Baker Publishing Group—as it’s now known though the official name is Baker Book House Company—stayed ahead of curve when it came to technology. It was among the first to offer software versions of its titles in the 1990s, and one of the first Christian publishers to have an operating website. All of its titles are now available as ebooks as well.
Yet Baker’s mission remains the same 75 years later. “Our vision is to remain connected to the church,” said Dwight Baker. “This is what guides us as we watch for opportunities to use our resources. The needs of the church won’t stop, but they will shift and responding to those shifts will be our biggest challenge.”
Meeting those needs may have been easier during the tenures of his father and grandfather when lines were strong between conservative and mainline churches, but the current blurring of those lines is an opportunity.
“Those blurred lines are liberating because we can cross barriers we haven’t before,” said Dwight Baker. “The audience is changing and shifting, while at the same time there is a ferocious determination to stay true to our heritage.”
Even 75 years later, the company’s goal is the same, reflecting the words of founder Herman Baker: “We love to sell a good book. There is no better business to be in. In books we have the richest treasures on earth, the output of the best minds of the ages.”
Worthy of Note:
“The Baker Book House Story,” published by Baker Publishing Group, will be available for sale at Baker Book House and on Amazon.
Bestselling Titles:
Over One Million
Born Again, Charles Colson
Hide or Seek, James Dobson
The Shunning, Beverly Lewis
Love Comes Softly, Janette Oke
Over Two Million
God’s Smuggler, Brother Andrew
His Needs, Her Needs, Willard Harley
The Total Woman, Marabel Morgan
The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson
Over Five Million
90 Minutes in Heaven, Don Piper
In His Steps, Charles Sheldon
The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom
