10/17/2026
Meet our managers!
The CLC Bookcenter is co-managed by our three person leadership team, Ian Stowers, Judy West, and Bea Galloway. (bios condensed from our CLC community newsletter)
Meet Ian
Both Ian and his wife Alyssa grew up in Christian homes and began to form a more personal relationship with God in high school. Attending the same youth group, both went on junior high retreats and experienced spiritual highs without lasting change in their hearts. Spiritual transformation happened for the couple in mirror experiences through missional work. For Ian, God used a mission trip to Ireland to awaken his dormant faith. One of his leaders repeated a mantra that stuck with him: “No Bible, no breakfast. No Bible, no bed!” Ian began reading his Bible for more than breakfast and bed, developing a hunger for Scripture that held the power
for change.
On another high school mission trip to Holland, God revealed Ian’s gift for street evangelism. His experiences sparked his study at Word of Life Bible Institute, followed by an education at Cairn University. At Cairn, he studied a vocation that he hopes will help him in future mission work: music! He studied both music education and music composition at Cairn. Not many may realize Ian’s musical gift: he has composed music for a string orchestra, brass quartet, and classical guitar.
After the year-long Bible program, Alyssa attended Cairn with Ian, where she studied psychology. The couple married halfway through their bachelor’s degrees in 2023. When they found out Alyssa was pregnant in 2024, they decided to look for a more family friendly environment and came to CLC! Ian’s family has a history on the hill: Ian’s mother grew up at CLC, and his grandfather was a printer for the ministry. Ian started volunteering, but quickly started working at the bookstore and has since become one of the co-managers. Their son, Daniel, was born in September of 2025.
Meet Judy
2026 marks her 5th year of working at the bookstore, and it’s not a career she expected. Before the bookstore, in the height of the pandemic, Judy was working as a pharmacy technician. Judy prayed earnestly for God’s intervention from her stressful work environment and horrible customer experiences. Her prayers were specific: a job at a Christian organization, nearby location, a welcoming environment, and good hours.
One day, while perusing an email from CLC, she noticed a prayer request about hiring new staff members at their bookstore. The location was perfect. Immediately, Judy knew God had answered her prayer. Although the bookstore seemed like the ideal next step, applying took courage; Judy wasn’t confident that a job would still be available. But she knew God was asking her to be obedient and follow the opportunity He had provided. “You asked the Lord for this,” Judy recalls telling herself, “So you do it afraid, but you have to be obedient and do it!” After reaching out to CLC, Judy was offered a job on the customer service / sales associate team at the book store.
Judy has loved being part of a ministry that allows her to help people. As a native Philadelphian, God has given her a heart for the city and the people in it. She often feels God nudging her to pray for people: once, when a customer shared the difficulty of losing her mother, Judy pursued that customer by praying for her in the parking lot. That same customer later returned to share how impactful it was to have someone pray for her. When she’s not at the bookstore, Judy loves to journal, often sitting by a window to soak in the sunshine and listen to music. She’s also listening carefully for the voice of God to continue guiding her work and encouraging her prayerful pursuit of those He sends across her path.
Meet Bea
Beatrice became a Christian at an early age, growing up in a Christian household as the
oldest of four with three younger brothers. Her family attended church at New Life Glenside, where she still works as the Children’s Director. Like many who grow up in Christian households, Beatrice considers the age 18 to be pivotal in her faith journey, saying that college is where her faith became her own. Her newfound zeal led her to participate in the Boardwalk Chapel ministry in New Jersey while she studied for a psychology degree at Cairn University.
In 2012, she met her husband, Josh, at Keystone Fellowship Church; three years later, they
married, and ten years later, they have two children, Jack (7) and Margot (3). Josh currently works in cyber security with the Air Force International Guard. When Josh was deployed for eight months in 2023, her rich theology became robustly practical: “I needed a faith that’s practical in the real world and not just theological knowledge,” she said. “What do I actually believe in practice? What does it mean to trust the Lord and call Him Prince of Peace?” The Hurd family became the practical support that she leaned on during this difficult season, and their friendship later encouraged her and her family to come to CLC. “We finally listened to the
Lord’s call to missions locally and globally,” Beatrice shared. After applying in the summer of 2025, the Galloways moved into CLC in September that same year.
Beatrice continues to grow in her relationship with the Lord through Christian nonfiction,
listing Liturgy of the Ordinary and The Emotionally Healthy Leader as two current, life-changing reads. In addition to reading, Beatrice enjoys immersing herself in cultural sites. Along with exploring other cultures, the Galloways enjoy exploring the outdoors, going on hikes and bike rides as a family.
Pray that Beatrice acknowledges the Lord in all things and that God continues to give her wisdom in balancing work and family time.
Stop by the bookstore to say hi to the management team!
