“ Our prayer is that folks who visit us will be enveloped with a sense of peace in this chaotic world. And that in Logos they may be embraced by the Word,” Rick says.
Our prayer is that folks who visit us will be enveloped with a sense of peace in this chaotic world
Even the store name itself tells this mission.
Logos comes from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Logos means“ word,” and it is in this passage where Jesus is identified as the Word. According to Rick, that gives the bookstore its purpose:“ We deal in words that point to Him.”
Like most Christian bookstores, Bibles are their bestselling category. But at Logos Bookstore of Dallas, children’ s books are also top sellers. The strong sales in their children’ s department are due in large part to their participation in school book fairs each year. Those fairs generate a lot of sales not only at the time of the event but also after the event. Those families end up shopping with the store throughout the year. As a result, they make a little more than $ 1 million in annual sales.
Rick says another part of their success is product knowledge. The key to this: reading. They read not only for their own spiritual and personal growth but also because they want to know the books well enough to recommend the right one to the right person at the right time.
“ What I enjoy the most is putting a good book that will change a life into the hands of a hungry heart,” Rick shares.
Rick explains that their product knowledge and customer service have turned customers into friends, and these friends are very loyal.
This loyalty was proven five years ago, when Rick and Susan were forced to leave their original location after the building was sold and demolished.
At that point, they had a decision to make.
After decades of running the bookstore, they thought about retirement. Through the years, Rick has served as president of the Board of Association of Logos Bookstores, judged the Christy Awards, spoken on panels within the Christian publishing industry and served as a spiritual director. Susan has been active in women’ s Bible studies and has participated in a Christian dance ministry since 1990. And with three married sons and seven grandchildren, their family now stretches from Dallas to Kansas to Kentucky.
But as they considered closing the doors, they came to believe that God wasn’ t finished with their bookstore ministry.
Starting a new chapter was a big undertaking. The new location was only a block away, but getting there required more than a new lease and a fresh coat of paint. What happened next confirmed just how deeply Logos Bookstore of Dallas has become part of its community.
Without asking for help, Rick says supporters of their store provided the labor, food for workers and every penny they needed to open the new location. It has become clear to Rick:“ This community is God’ s gift to us.”
At Logos Bookstore of Dallas, their story is still being written. As Rick says,“ This is God’ s store, and we are along for the ride.” CRA
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