About us

Hello! I'm Candy Croom! Owner of Matthew 18:11 Bookstore & More! I'm so excited you are here. I wanted to share a little about me, my family, and why I decided to start my own online store!  

First, let's talk about my family and me. My husband Billy and I have been married for going on 9 years! In 2020 we brought our first child into the world. A little boy named Zachariah. Outside of this business we own another small family-owned business called Croom Overhead Door Service. In this business my husband installs overhead doors along with my mom who works for us, and I manage the business from home. I never dreamed staying home would be possible, but after we had our little boy, we made a leap of faith and God has provided and not let us down. My husband is also a preacher who preaches mostly at jails and rehabs and anywhere he can share the word of God. We are a member of a wonderful church where we both try to stay constantly involved doing the Lord's work. We are so blessed and thankful for all the Lord has done for us.  

Now, let's talk about this bookstore adventure. For years I have told my husband I had a dream to open up a coffee shop/ bookstore. As the years went on my dream started developing into something a little different. I still wanted the coffee shop / bookstore, but it became something more. I was having such a difficult time finding KJV only material, which is the only bible version we use. The dream in my head kept growing and while I didn't feel like we could afford a brick-and-mortar location at this point, I knew I had to start somewhere if this dream would ever be a reality. So, I started reaching out to some vendors and leads and things just started falling into place.  After putting my first foot forward and opening an online store a year and 1/2 later the Lord opened more doors and gave us the opportunity to turn it Brick and Mortar. You can now find our 1st Brick and Mortar location in Southside, AR, but we will continue to keep our website so people are able to shop online as well. We are so excited about this venture. 

Last, I wanted to share where the name came from. Matthew 18:11 which we know is the following scripture- For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. As I sat at the table with my husband and mom, we brainstormed tons of names. Some good ones too, or at least I thought so :). When I blurted out "Matthew 18:11" They looked at me funny of course at first, because it doesn't have a ring to it at all! I proceeded to tell them that if I was KJV only I wanted my business to have a statement. Most other bible versions remove this verse from their bibles, so I felt like the verse itself spoke to the heart and self-explained what you can find in my store. We believe the word is Holy and preserved in the King James Bible and I wanted people to have easy access to the whole word. Not just in their bibles, but also in their devotionals, and wall hangings, and cards, etc. If my store does not have what you are looking for, I encourage you to reach out and let me go in search for you. My website will start small, but with your help and support I know I can grow into your one stop Christian bookstore & more! :)  

May God bless you always! I look forward to hearing from you!