(Nashville, Tenn.) July 5, 2006 – The Invitation, narrated by pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, provides a unique evangelistic tool that is being made available to believers and seekers nation-wide by Maranatha! Music and Nelson Bibles this July 25th. This CD follows Nelson Bibles’ 2005 initiative, The Million Bible Challenge, which aimed to get one-million Bibles in the hands of seekers. To date over 3.5 million Bibles have been distributed through this challenge and as a result thousands have come to Christ.

The Invitation, developed as an audio sound-tract companion to the phenomenally successful Nelson Bibles’ Million Bible Challenge, features Rick Warren guiding the listener through a conversion experience toward becoming a born-again Christian. The narration addresses the sequential topics “What On Earth Am I Here For?”, “Our Creator Loves Us,” “We Are Separated By Sin,” “Accept, Believe, And Receive,” and then finishes up with “Life Has Meaning,” “Invitation Prayer,” and “God’s Promise.” Nestled within the narrative are songs from Christian recording artists Amy Grant, Pocket Full Of Rocks, Casting Crowns, Chris Falson, Joel Engle, Matt Papa, and Evan Wickham.

“The Invitation is about reaching seekers with the Gospel of Christ. It’s not about the industry, and not about scans,” said Maranatha! Music President Randy Alward. “Our hope is that this CD will be used as a new tool that will help reconnect our true purpose as Christians with the marketplace, seeker, and church.”

The Invitation, sold exclusively through the CBA market, will be distributed through Word Distribution, who has donated their services in support of the project. Modeled after Nelson Bibles’ Million Bible Challenge (www.millionbiblechallenge.com), The Invitation will be sold in boxes of 20 at a cost-effective $1 per CD. The narrator, artists, record labels, songwriters and publishers donated their time and content royalty free in order to ensure the low retail price and mass distribution of this powerful message of salvation. The Invitation will also be available as a free-of-charge download at www.maranathamusic.com, and CCLI’s site www.songtouch.com.

Delighted at the prospect of furthering the momentum created by Nelson’s Million Bible Challenge, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Nelson Bibles Wayne Hastings said, "We never expected to reach such milestones so early in the Million Bible project, but with each achievement there comes the satisfaction of knowing we are closer to reaching our ultimate goal—to share the Good News with those who may have never heard or read it before. We’re thrilled to partner with Maranatha! Music and look forward to the additional outreach this project provides.”

Follow up resources to help new believers grow in their faith will be available free of charge at www.theinvitation.tv. These online tools include the “Top 10 FAQs” related to apologetics, the American Association Of Christian Counselor’s Biblical solutions for the “Top 20” felt needs, and both a church locator and CBA store locator structured by zip code.

Maranatha! Music is a pioneer in praise and worship music resource publishing. Best known for the Praise Series, Praise Band Series, and Top 25 Series, Maranatha! Music has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Maranatha! has marketing and sales partnerships with Spin 360 and Vineyard Records UK product sold in North America. For more information, visit www.maranathamusic.com.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. is a leading publisher and distributor of books emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes and believes it is the largest publisher of Bibles and inspirational books. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.thomasnelson.com.