Few visitors are aware of the connection between a modest Christian bookstore in a small Western mountain town and one of the country's best-known media empires.

But Praise Productions Christian Store in Ridgway, Colo.—the location for the famous John Wayne movie True Grit, and with a population around 1,000—is operated by Victoria Hearst, granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst. He was the newspaper publisher who gave his name to the corporation that now includes major broadcast and print interests.

Hearst opened the store in 1998, after moving to Ridgway—located at 6,000 feet, near the San Juan National Forest—on becoming a Christian and swapping plans for a show-business career for a ministry.

Besides Bibles, books and music, the store has a major emphasis on products and resources from Israel, where Hearst travels frequently as an enthusiastic supporter of the country with her Praise Him Ministries. Among the items available are shofars, prayer shawls, wall hangings, scrolls, decorative candles, olive wood products and anointing oils.

For Hearst, the store is part of her ministry to the local community. "I am blessed, and I can keep it going. Financially, I keep it going because it is important and God says to keep it going," she told Christian Retailing. "The bookstore helps spread the gospel and also takes a stand for the Lord and for Israel."

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