LifeWay Christian Stores has acquired Johnsen & Taylor Bookstore, which was founded as a joint venture between Tyndale House Publishers and South Africa-based Christian Publishing Company (CPC). Terms of the agreement were not released.

Opened in November 2010, the 5,000-square-foot Wheaton, Ill., store was named in honor of Chris Johnsen, managing director of CPC and founder of Christian Art Gifts of South Africa, and Kenneth and Margaret Taylor, founders of Carol Stream, Ill.-based Tyndale House.

"Our motivation since day one was to serve our local community through the ministry and resources of a Christian retail store," Tyndale officials said. "We have achieved this goal, and as we look to the future of the store, we feel the community will be better served by being part of a larger Christian retail organization that is focused on retail and has a clear mission of bringing gospel-centered resources to local communities.

"[LifeWay's] core values and mission align with what we desire for Johnsen & Taylor, and we are excited to see this ministry continue to flourish within the LifeWay group," Tyndale officials added. "The store location, store manager and the employees, who wished to continue, all remain the same. We pray this store will continue to be the blessing it has already become to the Wheaton community.

The 6,432-square-foot LifeWay Christian Store, which officially opens Aug. 1, will hold a grand opening celebration Aug. 10-31.

“I’ve heard from many individuals and churches who are excited about LifeWay Christian Stores being here,” said store manager Mark Sutkowski, who served in the same capacity for Johnsen & Taylor. “We are grateful to see the continuation of the ministry started by Johnsen & Taylor. I'm looking forward to having the ability to reach out to the local churches in a greater way through cooperative community projects, seasonal campaigns and high-quality ministry resources.”

Earlier this year, LifeWay acquired The Salt Shaker Bookstore and Cafe in Wilmington, N.C. The owner, Claire Efird, had 14-year-old store in February. 

Editor's note: This story has been expanded since its original publication.

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