The Book Nook celebrates one year in Old Town on Aug. 15

Longtime Clovis residents Ed and Linda Flores wanted to help people understand the Christian faith — what they believe and why they believe it — so the couple opened a bookstore in Old Town Clovis a year ago.

Many people stop into The Book Nook at 421 1/2 Pollasky Ave. just to take a peek at the tiny 150-square-foot retail space. The narrow hallway used to be a dirt alley leading to the parking lot.

“People are curious about the space; they’ve heard how small it is,” Ed Flores said.

But some of those people are also curious about theology and the history of Christianity.

The Book Nook’s retail space is small, as is its niche in the market.

“We’re a very narrow, niche store as far as Christian books are concerned. There are all kinds of Christian genres from psychology, self-help, romance, and most book stores commercially stock books for a wider audience,” Flores explained. “Our purpose is not as a business to make money. We’re semi-retired and we’re fine. This is something we wanted to do for the Christian community where people could come to get more Reformational, Protestant books, going back to the early Reformers.”

While Bibles and children’s books sit on the shelves, a majority of the shop contains books on the major doctrines, such as Sola Scriptura — that the Bible is the only authority — and Solus Christus, that nobody comes to God except through Jesus, Flores said.

“These are good books that tell you the truth about where you came from and where you’re going,” he said. “I love this stuff. These books have made a big difference for me. I’ve been a Christian for 40 years. Before I came to Christ I was a serious, serious sinner. I’m in no way proud of it. God met me where I was.”

Now Flores uses his shop, which celebrates its one-year anniversary on Monday, as a way to help others who are new to or questioning the Christian faith.

“It’s a ministry; it’s an outreach,” he said. “Some people come in and they’re scared of Christianity. They come and they go pretty quickly. Some people come in who are Christians but they’re kind of afraid of talking about their faith. We’re learning how, over this year, to see where people are at and open up a conversation.”

Believers from Ghana, Brazil and just about every state in the U.S. have come through the doors, Flore said.

He and his wife are happy to point each person toward a few books out of their 1,000-title selection.

“Although we’re small, this is probably the best selection of good, solid Christian-centered books in the Central Valley,” he said.

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "The Book Nook celebrates one year in Old Town on Aug. 15."