Elmbrook carries a depth and breadth of books, Bibles

From a simple booktable to 4,200 square feet, Elmbrook Church Bookstore has grown substantially through its more than 40 years serving suburban Milwaukee. Formerly known as Garden of Readin’—playing off of the biblical Garden of Eden—the store in Brookfield, Wis., is part of Elmbrook Church, where about 6,000 attend one of its four worship services each weekend.

“We’re one of the few Christian stores left in the Milwaukee area,” said Dave Borleis, who co-manages the store with Deb Jacot.

The store is strong in books, Bibles and music, but also has a buyer for gifts.

“Books are our main staple,” said Jacot, who has worked at the store for 25 years. “They want us to be a bookstore.”

The congregation the store serves, now led by senior pastor Philip Griffin and lead pastor Scott Arbeiter, grew significantly under former pastor Stuart Briscoe and his wife, Jill, well known in the Christian market for their many books and the Telling the Truth Bible-teaching ministry. In 1971, Briscoe asked church member Pearl Graves to set up a booktable to accommodate sales of his books and then provided her with $500 to invest in books by other authors.

As the church grew, the store also increased its floor space. The booktable developed into a 600-square-foot store and later occupied a former nursery of 1,000 square feet.

Graves served on the board of CBA and hosted first-time visitors to its summer convention. When Deb Jacot—now the store’s co-manager—attended, she met Graves, who represented CBA in the area where Jacot’s store, Grace Church of Edina in Minneapolis, was located. When Jacot, who has also worked with Northwestern Bookstores, arranged to visit the Garden of Readin’ for some tips on running her church’s store, she was offered a management position. Within the year after Jacot took the job, Graves retired, and from 1988 to 2000, Jacot co-managed Garden of Readin’ with Noreen Zimdars.

In 1996, at a time when the church had grown significantly, the store was offered 4,200 square feet, a significant jump from its previous 1,000 square feet. Garden of Readin’ then needed more help, and Borleis, who had worked part-time at the store while getting his business and marketing degree, came on board full-time as assistant manager just prior to the store’s big move. Four years later when Zimdars left, Borleis, who has worked in sporting goods, jewelry and other retail outlets, took her place co-managing with Jacot.

A self-described “music nut,” Borleis appreciates the CD-burning technology the store uses with Integra Interactive’s myMedia BurnBar. CDs by such recording artists as Keith & Kristyn Getty, TobyMac and Lecrae are available at the store, along with a wide variety of accompaniment tracks and other music. The store also sells tickets to the many concerts, Christian and country, the church hosts in its 3,000-seat sanctuary. The church has hosted artists ranging from Third Day and MercyMe to Josh Turner and Charlie Daniels. CDs and DVDs of special church events are also available.

Known by its original name until February 2010, Elmbrook Church Bookstore aims “to provide a variety of resources that direct people into a growing and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Books by the Briscoes and by authors who attend the church as well as Elmbrook ministry materials are available, as are theological works used by Trinity University students who can take accredited courses offered at the church.

The church principally uses the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, though the English Standard Version (ESV) has also been used from the pulpit. The NIV is the top-selling version at the store, with the ESV second and the New Living Translation falling into third. The breadth of Bibles on the store’s shelves also include the King James and New King James Version translations, The Message and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Elmbrook sells a substantial number of Bible studies as small group participation is encouraged at the church. The store used to have a healthy business with Sunday school and Vacation Bible School curricula, but as more and more churches opted to write their own programs—as Elmbrook itself does—or order them direct through publishers, Elmbrook opted to halt its popular January VBS workshop, which drew up to 200 people and served other area churches, and no longer retains a staff person in charge of curricula. However, the store still special-orders curricula upon request.

Best-sellers at the store include products that many other stores also see selling, including Jesus Calling, Not a Fan, Crazy Love, Action Bible and Heaven Is for Real, which has recently tapered off in sales. The store hosts book signings, including local writers as well as best-selling authors such as Beverly Lewis, William P. Young, Lee Strobel and N.T. Wright, and has participated in CBA’s Christian Store Week (formerly Christian Store Day) for three consecutive years.

The store also carries a limited range of gifts, including cards, journals, mugs, plaques, framed art and jewelry from companies such as DaySpring, Howard’s Jewelry, Bob Siemon Designs, Dicksons and P. Graham Dunn. The store has also sold higher-end items from a local jewelry maker and is also considering adding fair trade gifts to its offerings next year.

Elmbrook maintains a good working relationship with other area stores, which include a few Family Christian Stores, Northwestern Publishing House’s store and Giving Tree, which serves the Catholic population in large part.

“We’ve always tried to have sort of a team atmosphere among the different Christian stores that have been in this area and we still want to continue to have that even though there’s fewer of them, and I think that’s helped us tremendously too,” Borleis said.

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