12 The News-Press
LOCAL
February 9, 2017F
LIFE
Dalton Geske, 18, of Denver shelves books at Christian Used Books, where he works part-time. The bookstore, at 3436 S. Broadway in Englewood, features 75,000 used books on site and 50,000 more stored in a warehouse. PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN
Books, Bibles
and
beyond
Christian bookstores offer more than just the written word BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
W
andering around the maze of more than 75,000 books in a 2,500-square-foot bookstore on South Broadway, the section titles are diverse: Endtime thrillers, books for mom, on the supernatural and Christian living, to name a few. Nonfiction sits near novels of imagination. There are dictionaries, books on prayer and guidebooks that teach how to study the Bible. Then there are the rare collector books — some that can be traced back to 400 years ago. “We have so many cool and interesting books here,” said Dalton Geske, an 18-year-old Denver college student who works part-time at the Englewood store, Christian Used Books. “And you get to see how much they’ve been loved,” he added, pointing out highlighted texts and handwritten notes in some of the nearby books. Christian bookstores are a niche market. They offer readers a different experience than online shopping — and many serve a purpose beyond the business of selling books.
Richard Weigang of Centennial stands with some of the Catholic items at his store of 25 years on South Broadway in Englewood. “This is a bookstore, but it’s also a ministry,” said Eddie Cook, owner of Christian Used Books. “It’s amazing what happens in here.” The ministry of books Denver residents Cook and his wife Bonnie have owned and operated the bookstore for 25 years. Cook is a pastor who started a church in Englewood in 1992, but is now an itinerant evangelist — which means he preaches in various places — so that he can focus more on the bookstore.
The bookstore ministers in a number of ways, Cook said. For example, he donates Bibles and religious books to organizations or individuals in need. Many of those materials will go to missions overseas such as to Ghana, Cambodia, the Philippines and Liberia. Although Cook sees new customers every day, a lot of his regulars come back for the knowledge, he said. “Christians are always working on something,” Cook said. “The folks who come in here are either growing
personally or helping someone else grow.” Christian author and pastor Dave Cheadle agrees about the added value of bookstores. About 10 years ago, Cheadle started the Harvest Christian Community church in Wheat Ridge. Now, he works with the homeless through Giving Heart Englewood. Cheadle has been writing since at least the mid-1970s, he said, and has more than 150 articles and six books published. He is working on the third novel of a Christian fiction trilogy that he describes as an “apocalyptic end-of-the-world type of story.” In the story, Christians are called upon to minister to the suffering world, Cheadle said, and the main character preaches about grace and truth. “That is the theme of my life — it’s a theme I feel strongly about and it comes through in the books,” Cheadle said. “I love getting caught up in the story as I write it.” Richard Weigang of Centennial holds a master’s degree in biblical theology and as a store owner, it’s all about taking an interest in the customer and helping he or she buy what they want and need, he said. Weigang and his wife Lorena have owned and operated The Catholic Store, 3372 S. Broadway in Englewood, for 25 years. SEE BOOKS, P13