Good News Christian Bookstore— a 50-year history of ministry

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  Gena and Garry Jordan extend a personal invitation to the community to join them on Saturday, July 27, with in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Good News Christian Bookstore, located at 1181 South Broadway St. The store has had different names, locations and owners over the years, with the Jordan family as stewards of the 50-year ministry.

  Gena and Garry Jordan extend a personal invitation to the community to join them on Saturday, July 27, with in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Good News Christian Bookstore, located at 1181 South Broadway St. The store has had different names, locations and owners over the years, with the Jordan family as stewards of the 50-year ministry.
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  A newspaper clipping for the grand opening of the Christian bookstore under the new ownership of Garry and Gena Jordan in 1990.

  A newspaper clipping for the grand opening of the Christian bookstore under the new ownership of Garry and Gena Jordan in 1990.

Good News Christian Bookstore in Sulphur Springs, a family-owned Bible and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, has been owned by Garry and Gena Jordan have since 1990, but the store’s history goes back 50 years.

To celebrate the milestone, the public is invited to a '50 years and onemonth' anniversary celebration on Saturday, July 27, 2024, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and every shopper will receive a 50% discount on one item of their choice of anything in the store.

The bookstore’s history of ministry began in 1974 as “Words of Life” at 319 Main St. near downtown Sulphur Springs, just across from the water tower, in the original Super Handy Convenience Store site. A group of Christian men pooled their money and efforts to acquire the building and hired Mrs. Bobbie Gallagher as store manager, with Gena as a volunteer.

Later, Mrs. Gallagher owned the tiny store, then, three more owners in succession — Dan and Susan Stanley, Dwayne and Nancy Davis, and Carroll and Dot Asbill — before the Jordans took ownership of the store.

On Nov. 19, 1990, the Garry Jordan family becelebrated becoming the new owners with a grand re-opening event.

“In 1990, our three children were ages 12, eight, and five, and Garry and I were working at the store full-time,' Gena Jordan recalled. 'The school bus would pull up in front of the store and let them out each afternoon. The bookstore was their home away from home, and by way of it and our church, they learned the importance of serving others. Currently, Jeremy is a full-time music minister in Georgia, Joshua serves at a church in Louisiana, and Laura and family are in missionary work in Mexico. And, with 10 grandchildren, our blessings have grown!”

In addition to ownership changes, the Christian bookstore has also changed locations over the years.

From 1994 until 2011, “Thee Christian Bookstore: Ministering to the Necessity of the Saints” was in the Windsor Plaza Shopping Center, with outlets in Mount Vernon and Mount Pleasant.

For the next 10 years, it operated inside the VF Outlet Mall.

In 2021, the Jordans said they were led to their present location at 1181 South Broadway St., with a name change to “Good News Christian Bookstore.'

Today, the spacious 10,500-square-foot store carries greeting cards, windchimes, wall art, jewelry, devotionals, journals, and Bibles for every age reader. There are children's Bible stories, and books on parenting, managing grief and spiritual wellness. Walls and shelves are filled floor to ceiling with inspirational merchandise for Christian homes, offices, and churches.

Besides being a businessman, Gary also pastors Calvary Baptist Church.

The couple’s rule has been 'serving and developing close customer relationships while offering plentiful Christian merchandise and special orders.'

Their caring service has gained them many customers and friends.

“From Texarkana to Dallas, ours is the only Christian bookstore open. This store is a retail shop, but it is more than that because it is also a ministry,' Gena Jordan said.

'We are here to bless others, and that brings out-of-town business to Sulphur Springs. During this Saturday’s celebration, our gift is each customer’s choice of one item for 50% off because God gives us the choice to choose Jesus as our one and only Savior.”