Leap of faith leads to small business award

By Robyn Dolan, The Catholic Sun
JUNE 7, 2007

PRESCOTT — Terry Johnsen had never worked in retail prior to opening All God’s Children Book Store more than a year ago.

Now she is the proud recipient of the Family-Owned Business of the Year Award, presented to her by the U.S. Small Business Administration in Phoenix.

In the spring of 2006, she left her job of 18 years as a supervisor at a medical diagnostics lab to open the store.

“While I was volunteering at the youth office at church, people kept asking me if I knew where there was a Catholic bookstore, or where they could get a certain book,” Johnsen said. “I felt the Lord was calling me to open a bookstore and I began praying about it.”

Johnsen grew up in Prescott as a member of Sacred Heart Parish and a student at Sacred Heart Catholic School. She met and married her husband here and together they raised four children, who also attended the school.

The bookstore has been a family project from the start.

Her daughter, Rachel, is a Northern Arizona University business school graduate and manages the store. Together, they did all the research and applied for loans to open the store.

“We grabbed our camera and went all over Phoenix, visiting Catholic bookstores, taking pictures and making notes,” Johnsen said.

The location itself is a godsend, as Johnsen was having difficulty finding a decent place she could afford. When the owner of a dress shop was forced to close her business due to health reasons, she was able to take over her lease.

The mission-style arches painted on the walls frame collections for baptisms, first Communions, confirmations, marriages and more.

A special section dedicated to her father, Tony Sanchez, offers used books for 50 cents. Once a month all the used book sales are tallied and a check for that amount is sent to St. Vincent de Paul in his honor.

There are plenty of Bibles and crucifixes, books about various saints, a pope section and a large collection of rosaries.

The middle of the store hosts a large selection of Spanish-language books, Bibles and gifts, and there is a growing inventory of DVDs, family-friendly movies and Catholic music CDs.

Plans for the future include expanding their Web site, www.allgodschildrenbookstore.com, managed by her son Justin, and offering a children’s story time with puppet shows.