Three new LifeWay Christian Store locations in Alabama — two in Birmingham and one in the Oxford/Anniston area — opened their doors in late September.
The three, when added to Alabama’s existing stores in Florence, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery and Trussville, bring the tally of LifeWay stores in the state to nine with 131 total in 23 states.
Christine Greiner, manager of the Oxford/Anniston store, said that she and the other employees are excited to serve the 87 churches of Calhoun Baptist Association, as well as the surrounding associations.
The new 5,400-square-foot Oxford/Anniston store, located at the intersection of Interstate 20 and Morgan Road, had a “soft” opening midafternoon Sept. 20, and even though the grand opening wasn’t until Sept. 22, a number of customers perused the aisles the first hours after the doors opened.
“The reaction to the store coming has been awesome — absolutely unbelievable,” Greiner said, noting that it would be a handy place for Baptists in the area to get the materials they need.
That’s the whole idea behind the new locations, according to Gabbie Maxner, manager of the new Birmingham South store, which moved from its former location on Lakeshore Parkway in Homewood to U.S. Highway 31 in Hoover.
“LifeWay’s intention is to have a store that is convenient for everybody, and we would like to better serve all of Birmingham,” she said.
Even though Maxner’s “new” store is actually a relocated one, she said she and others like to think of the Homewood store’s closing as birthing two new Birmingham-area stores — the Hoover store and the new 8,000-square-foot Birmingham Southeast store in The Village at Lee Branch shopping center on U.S. Highway 280 in the Greystone area, which Zack Hudson will manage.
The Birmingham South store at its old Homewood location has been one of LifeWay’s top stores for decades, according to Mark Scott, vice president of LifeWay Christian Stores, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources.
“In order to serve better the growing area population, it was necessary to take this successful store and split it into two locations,” he said.
At press time, Maxner and a team of managers from across the country were planning to pack up the Homewood store after an early closing Sept. 23 and hoped to open the doors to the Hoover location across from the Riverchase Galleria mall Sept. 26. The official grand opening and ribbon cutting was set for Sept. 28 at 9:30 a.m.
The Greystone-area store has its grand opening set for the same time Sept. 29.
The two Birmingham stores stem from a more-than-70-year LifeWay history in the city. Two local pastors started the first Baptist Book Store in Birmingham in 1927, and LifeWay acquired it in 1935 and has had a presence in the city ever since.
Scott said LifeWay is excited about the further growth of ministry opportunities in the state with the three new locations.
The new stores, he said, “better position us for greater possibilities to minister and fulfill our vision of providing biblical solutions for life.”
The stores will all offer Christian music, gifts, Bibles, books, children’s products and church supplies.
The 10,750-square-foot Hoover location will also feature a new youth section that will boast comfy chairs, big-screen televisions, youth Bibles and music videos, according to Maxner.
“It’s a new concept that LifeWay is working on, and our store is going to be a prototype for this,” she said.
“There will be a place where you can go specifically to shop for that age group, and if you’re in that age group, you’ll have a place to just hang out. We’re excited about that,” Maxner added.
LifeWay products are also available on the LifeWay Christian Stores Web site.
To access the Lifeway Web site, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org and click on the “Click here to visit LifeWay Christian Stores” link at the bottom of The Alabama Baptist Web page.
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