Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. A founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Also recorded as Zondervan Publishing House · The Zondervan Corporation · Zondervan Publishing Company
Zondervan

Pete unseth · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Founded
- 1931.
- Headquarters
- Grand Rapids.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. A founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Zondervan was founded in 1931, with headquarters in Grand Rapids. It is a member of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Zondervan. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q8073886 · wikipedia · Zondervan
In this article
History
History
And has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. The commercial rights holder for the New International Version (NIV) Bible in North America. According to the Zondervan website, it is the largest Christian publisher.
Zondervan was founded in 1931 in Grandville, MI, a suburb of Grand Rapids, by brothers Peter ("P.J.", "Pat") and Bernard (Bernie) Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher William B. Eerdmans. The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse and originally dealt with selling remainders and publishing public domain works. The first book it published was Women of the Old Testament by Abraham Kuyper, in 1933. Within a few years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing Bible editions. The Berkeley Version appeared in 1959, and the Amplified Bible in 1965. The New International Version New Testament was published in partnership with the International Bible Society in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978. The company was bought by HarperCollins, a division of News Corp, in 1988, and is the company's principal Christian book publishing division. Scott Macdonald was appointed president and CEO in May 2011. Zondervan also publishes many other books by Christian authors focusing on topics of interest to Christians. In the 1970s it published The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, which has sold more than 30 million copies. The publisher is also known for the Bible storytelling books of Ethel Barrett, Joni by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada, Baptist minister and author Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold more than 35 million copies, and Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas. In 2004, Zondervan expanded to include Renee Altson, Shane Claiborne, Sarah Raymond Cunningham and Margaret Feinberg, authors writing for young readers. The children's arm of the company Zonderkidz published The Jesus Storybook Bible in 2007, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago. It has sold in excess of 2 million copies in 19 languages. The NIV Zondervan Study Bible was released in 2015 during the 50th anniversary of the New International Version (NIV) translation. The study Bible, edited by Dr. D. A. Carson, features over 60 evangelical contributors from multiple denominations. On 11 March 2019, Zondervan announced the formation of two new imprints, Zondervan Reflective and Zondervan Academic. Although both imprints ran informally at Zondervan for several years this announcement formalised their public brand. Zondervan Reflective focuses on publishing books discussing the relationship between faith and culture, leadership, and how Christians can lead biblically faithful lives privately and in the public square. Noted authors include Andy Stanley, Clay Scroggins, J.D. Greear, Colin Hansen, Tim Challies, Michael Horton, Jared Wilson, John Lennox, Jemar Tisby, and Peter Scazzero. On 28 June 2020, Jemar Tisby's The Color of Compromise reached #13 on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Zondervan Academic publishes reference volumes, textbooks, and monographs, for both use in schools and by many pastors. It is widely known for its biblical language resources, including the bestselling textbooks Basics of Biblical Greek, Basics of Biblical Hebrew, and many others. The imprint also publishes several popular commentary series, including the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary, Story of God Bible Commentary, and Word Biblical Commentary. Noted authors include N.T. Wright, Douglas Moo, Scot McKnight, Michael Bird, John Walton, Michael Horton, Dan Wallace, Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman, Thomas Kidd, Craig Keener, Thomas Schreiner, Nijay Gupta, Lynn Cohick, and D.A. Carson.
Music business
Music business
Zondervan was in the Christian record business for many years with the Singspiration and Zondervan Victory labels in the 1960s, Singcord in the 1970s, and the Milk & Honey Records label, starting in the late 1970s. Zondervan acquired Stamps-Baxter Music Company in 1974. In 1980, Zondervan and Paragon Associates bought Christian record label Benson Records in a partnership to own and operate for $3 million. The resulting company was (measured by sales) one and a half times the size of its closest competitor, Word. Zondervan bought out Paragon in 1983, and eventually sold Benson's recorded music and music publishing to Zomba Label Group in 1993. The record catalog is now a part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Pradis
Pradis
Pradis was the trademarked name for Zondervan's native format for biblical software. On September 22, 2009, Logos Research Systems, Inc, and Zondervan announced a new partnership, and the retirement of Pradis. Thirty-one titles were slated for availability in "early 2010" in the LOGOS Bible Software format.

The Trumpet Sounds of Carole Reinhart Record Cover Front
Zondervan. international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan · THE TRUMPET SOUNDS OF CAROLE REINHART, Regal Zonophone

Front and back of "The Trumpet Sounds of Carole Reinhart", gramophone record. Mainly uploaded to prove there is no copyright notice on either front or back; clearer image in same category may also be used for articles.
Zondervan. international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan · CAROL DAWN REINHART The Trumpet Sounds of Carole Reinhart LP SEALED #3715
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
Explore 1931
The full dated record · 3 entries
1931
Zondervan established.
1931
Zondervan is recorded from 1931.
1931
Zondervan was established or created in 1931.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Zondervan”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q8073886: Zondervan
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Zondervan HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com.
- 2.Cohen, Charles L. Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America. University of Wisconsin Press. 32. 2008.
- 3.O'Brien, Elmer J. The Wilderness, the Nation, and the Electronic Era: American Christianity and Religious Communication, 1620-2000: An Annotated Bibliography. Scarecrow Press. 593. 2009.
- 4.Zondervan.com. Zondervan History.
- 5.Ruark, James. The House of Zondervan. Zondervan. 1981.
- 6.Ruark, Jim. The House of Zondervan: Celebrating 75 Years. Zondervan. 200. 2011.
- 7.Martinez, Shandra. Christian publishing house Zondervan announces new CEO and president. MLive.com. Advance Local Media LLC. May 4, 2011.
- 8.Zondervan.com. Zondervan Press Release.
- 9.Burns, Jeremy. 'The Jesus Storybook Bible' Tops 1 Million Units Sold - BCNN1. blackchristiannews.com. August 16, 2013.
- 10.Koonse, Emma. 'Jesus Storybook Bible' Sells Two Million Copies. Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. February 10, 2016.
- 11.The Commission for an Accurate, Understandable Bible Version. March 26, 2015.
- 12.Zondervan officially launches two imprints: Zondervan Reflective and Zondervan Academic. March 11, 2019.
- 13.Jemar Tisby's the Color of Compromise Hits the New York Times Best Sellers List. June 23, 2020.
- 14.Word Biblical Commentary. Zondervan Academic.
- 15.Zondervan, Singspiration, Singcord, Milk & Honey.
- 16.Zondervan-Paragon Pact Carved Out New Benson Co. CCM Magazine. 3. 4. 32. October 1980.
- 17.Benson Music.
- 18.Burns, Ryan. Logos Bible Software Announces Zondervan Partnership - Logos Bible Software. logos.com. 2013.
- 19.http://www.zondervan.com/Software
- 20.Zondervan.com.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Publishers and printers
5,459 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- ZimmermannOrganisation
- ZnanieOrganisation
- Zoch VerlagOrganisation
- ZochrotOrganisation
- Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit UniversityOrganisation
- Zoo CorporationOrganisation
- Zoological Society of LondonOrganisation
- ZubaanOrganisation
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Zondervan?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.