Few if any church bookstores would report an almost 50-year-old message by a former pastor among its best-selling items, but that is the case for the one managed by Oliver Huff.

The address in question is the late Dr. Martin Luther King's ringing "I Have a Dream" challenge to racism, made available at Ebenezer Gift Shop at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the late Dr. King was on staff.

The modest store provides an opportunity for ministry among the thousands who come each year to pay their respects to the internationally revered champion of the Civil Rights movement.

"We help people understand what motivated him, and that was his relationship with God," said Huff, who joined Ebenezer as a teenager and knew the slain preacher and activist. "They want to take something back from Ebenezer, and a sermon is really something tangible. They can listen to it over and over and share it with friends."

The church store opened in 1994 and features items with the name or image of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Among the motifs are "Where the Dream Began," "Home of the Dreamer" and "Home of the King."

"There's an opportunity to invite people to improve or increase their relationship with God," Huff said of the visitors. "They understand more what motivated him, and he was motivated by his relationship with God far more than anything else. Hopefully they leave with some of that motivation to live a better life and to live for Jesus."

Read the complete Best Practice profile of Ebenezer Gift Shop in the November issue of The Church Bookstore.

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