NavPress author Avery T. Willis Jr. passed away on July 30, 2010. A former pastor, missionary, seminary president, and missions administrator, Avery wrote Learning to Soar with his grandson, Matt; Truth, That Sticks with Mark Snowden; Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual with Jim Putman, Brandon Guindon, and Bill Krause; and Following Jesus Together with Real Life Ministries.

“Avery leaves a rich legacy in discipleship and sharing the Gospel around the world,” says Mike Miller, President of NavPress and Sr. Vice President of The Navigators. “We are privileged to have worked with him on so many wonderful resources to help Christians grow in their relationship with God. He will be greatly missed.”

Author Melody Carlson is passionate about writing about the challenges and struggles young adults face, and her readers have responded by making her one of the Christian products industry’s leading novelists. Her books have been finalists and winners of various writing awards, including The Gold Medallion, The Christy, and The Rita Award.

Carlson’s TrueColors series, which focuses on hard-hitting issues such as suicide, addiction, and cutting, continues to top NavPress’ bestsellers list with more than 350,000 copies sold. Carlson’s edgy, new Secrets series promises to follow in TrueColor’s footsteps.

Secrets is a fiction series that delves into the lives of teens whose secrets can make or break them. These realistic books offer readers hope by helping them discover that solid faith, loyal friends, and a persistent spirit will see them through rough times.

“All teens have secrets—many are happy secrets, but some are not,” explains Carlson. “My hope is that my new series will help readers to realize that undisclosed heartbreaks are best healed when brought into the

In Forgotten, the first book in the Secrets series, teenager Adele is forced to grow up quickly when she becomes homeless and tries to conceal it from her classmates. It releases Aug. 1.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Student Leadership University announced a new partnership with NavPress at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on July 16 to promote ERLC's Josiah Road initiative.

Find out more about it.

NavPress, a leader in discipleship and Scripture-memory resources, debuted the VerseMinder Topical Memory System iPhone application on iTunes.

Based on the popular Topical Memory System (TMS) developed by The Navigators, VerseMinder Topical Memory System marks a first-of-its-kind development for NavPress. With 60 verses in the NIV, NASB, KJV, and NKJV versions, all organized by topics, this app helps users memorize Bible verses in the translation of their choice and at their own pace.

“NavPress is excited to make our Scripture memory system available for a mobile device.  We believe in the truth and sufficiency of Scripture for the whole of life and are committed to translating that belief into new tools in this digital age,” says Michael Visentine, NavPress COO.  “We are currently looking into additional mobile platforms and plan on launching more apps in the future.”

VerseMinder Topical Memory System is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and doesn’t need an Internet connection. It requires .5 MB and iOS 3.0 or later.

It retails for $3.99 at iTunes.