It’s a solemn sight to walk into a store that has been a fixture in Valdosta’s community for the past 34 years and see the shelves barren. Sadly, that is the case for the Potter’s House Parable Christian Store, which will be shutting its doors forever in just a few short days.

Inspired by the Bible verse Jeremiah 18: 1-2, Cherie Gregory and her husband Tom opened the Potter’s House Christian Store in 1979. Their first location was in an old house on Patterson Street that just so happened to have formerly been owned by a family named Potter. Several years later, the need for expansion arose and they relocated to the Marketplace Shopping center where they stayed for another few years. It wasn’t until December of 1998 that they settled in their current Oak Street location. After moving to this location, they became a franchise of Parable and changed the name to Potter’s House Parable Christian Store.

In this age of technology and corporate giants, more and more independent stores are falling prey to closures. The Potter’s House is no exception. Stores like Sam’s and Wal-Mart started carrying Christian literature at prices that a privately owned store could not match, which was the beginning of the downfall.

While speaking with Cherie Gregory, she reminisced about all the customers she’s had the joy of bonding with over the past 34 years.  “Some of these customers and I have been together since the beginning; we’ve been doing a lot of crying,” she said.

Everything in the store ranging from the merchandise to the fixtures is currently on sale. They are even hoping to find a home for the locally famous Narnia castle that was built by Tom Gregory years ago. Cherie Gregory says she remembers how much fun kids had venturing through the wardrobe in their store and continuing into Narnia. She hopes that maybe a children’s church in town could make use of it so she doesn’t have to see it be torn down.

Although they are uncertain exactly what the future holds for them, Tom and Cherie Gregory intend on continuing their work with ministry in any way they can. “This week is the end of an era in our lives and the city that has blessed us beyond measure with thousands of memories,” says Tom Gregory.

A LifeWay Christian store will soon be opening in the Valdosta area, and some of the employees of the Potter’s House will be making their way there. Mrs. Gregory also hopes to have some involvement with LifeWay and is happy to know that residents of Valdosta will still have a Christian store to shop at.