Contact: Brian Burch, 616-233-0500

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- Thousands of pastors today are seeking new engagement and organizational tools to further grow their ministries and build discipleship within their membership. Zondervan is helping churches of all sizes realize these goals by creating safe, open and fulfilling online environments through The City.

The City by Zondervan is an innovative web-based platform that is revolutionizing how churches communicate, organize ministries, build connections with members, and simplify organization, outreach and worship. The City's comprehensive approach brings together everything from email, Facebook and Twitter to finance and administration all in one place.

"Personal communication is the key to relationships, and in the age in which we live we can augment face-to-face communications in many ways using a variety of tools," said Greg Surratt, senior pastor at Seacoast Church in Charleston, S.C. "I had been praying for a tool like The City, a Holy Spirit-energized communications tool that our entire church could confidently join. God has spoken to our church and our leadership, and in nine months, we have connected the majority of our 10,000 members and created a stronger community."

The City is currently used by more than 165,000 people and is effectively enabling church attendees to reach out to each other. During the month of September, more than 3.2 million emails were sent among members of The City, all without the risk of spam, phishing scams or email viruses.

"Subscribing to The City is one of the best decisions we have ever made as a church. It is the core platform that we have chosen to facilitate discipleship and achieve our goal of healthy, sustainable growth," added Tierce Green, executive pastor of Small Groups at Woodlands Church in Houston.

The City brings church to members beyond Sunday service by creating an online environment for church leadership and its congregation. It offers tools that help drive small-group management, empowering a church to achieve more effective discipleship among church attendees. It also helps leaders organize their ministries to enhance our communities and local culture.

"Every day we see example after example of how God is using The City to help churches achieve their mission and vision," added Mike Andrews, vice president at The City.

The City is now used in 12 countries around the world and has proven to be a valuable platform for both small and large churches. Members of The City will have a booth at the 2010 Catalyst Conference taking place October 6-10 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Atlanta.

About The City
The City is a division of Zondervan and is located in Seattle. This innovative web-based platform is focused on empowering churches to realize their mission. The City enables churches to connect newcomers and regular congregants to meaningful community and discipleship, and uses social networking technology to help keep everyone in touch throughout the week, serving each other's needs and sharing life together.

The City also gives leaders powerful new ways to communicate to congregants and brings fresh insight to church administration, children's ministry, and operational management. Find out more about The City on the internet at www.onthecity.org or contact The City directly at 1-877-978-4324.

About Zondervan
Zondervan, a HarperCollins company, is a world leader in Christian communications and the leading Christian publishing brand. For more than 75 years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian experiences through general and academic resources by influential leaders and emerging voices, and been honored with more Christian Book Awards than any other publisher. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in Seattle, Chicago and Miami, Zondervan is best known as a publisher of its bestselling Bibles, books, audio, video, curriculum, software, and digital products. Zondervan resources are sold worldwide through retail stores, online, and by Zondervan ChurchSource, and are translated into nearly 200 languages in more than 60 countries. Visit Zondervan on the Internet at www.zondervan.com.