By Jerald and Sandra Tanner
As the ministry has continued to expand we have become increasingly aware that Utah Lighthouse Ministry desperately needs a home of its own so that it can effectively meet the needs of the growing number of people who are searching for the truth. Because we ship a large number of books, tracts and tapes throughout the world, some people who visit our bookstore are surprised to learn that we have a relatively small work area. At the present time, in fact, all of the work is done in our own house and in the garage! Besides the fact that we are running out of space to store the material, the bookstore is far from adequate for the number of people who come in to talk or browse. It is only 16 x 12 feet to begin with, and the book cases and desk take up part of this area. The room often becomes so crowded that customers leave before they are able to obtain all of the publications or information they need.
Fortunately, a small house next to ours became available and the ministry was able to obtain it. At first we thought the house was unusable and we were preparing to tear it down and use the lot for a new building. Upon further examination, however, we found that under the stucco there is a good brick structure which is of historical interest. It was probably built toward the end of the 19th century.
The small house next to the Tanners’ house/ministry, which would eventually become the Utah Lighthouse Ministry Bookstore. This was probably an old farmhouse, originally dating from the 1800’s (pictured here from the rear).
At the present time we are thinking of removing the stucco and restoring the house. It would make a very good bookstore and would be much larger than the one in our house. In addition, we would like to add on a building at the back of the house where our publishing and shipping operations could be done in a more efficient manner.
At the present time we do not have enough money to complete such a project (around $65,000). We would ask our friends to pray for us that if this is the Lord’s will, he will show us how to proceed. We do have eight acres of land on the bank of the Deer Creek Reservoir, in Heber Valley, which was donated to us a number of years ago. Perhaps some of those who believe in our ministry might be interested in buying this land or donating to our building project. Utah Lighthouse Ministry is a non-profit organization which ministers to many people and provides support for 44 children through World Vision.
Originally appeared in:
See the other articles in this series:
- The Lighthouse Needs a Home!
- Building a Home for the Lighthouse
- The New Lighthouse is Becoming a Reality!
- The New Lighthouse
- In the Lighthouse at Last!