Deal hunters in Lake Wylie have another spot to try. How a school could benefit.

There’s a new place to look for deals in Lake Wylie. And a few dozen children who’ll be glad when folks find them.

The Journey Resale Store is open at 5415 Hwy. 557. It’s part of The Journey at Lake Wylie. The thrift shop will be open 8:30 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of every month, including July 15.

Journey Resale joins similar efforts in the area. Sweet Repeat is an established thrift shop on Charlotte Highway. Across Buster Boyd Bridge in Steele Creek, there is a large Goodwill store and Christ the King gives away donated clothes through its King’s Closet.

“A lot of our items are probably priced a little higher in here than what I’ve seen (at Sweet Repeat),” said Jere McClain, co-coordinator at Journey Resale with Kay Bivens. “But there’s just such a need, in both places.”

The need at Journey arose when Pine Grove Christian Academy, the 4K through fifth grade school housed on the Journey church campus, relocated from the family life center and other leftover space to the former church office area.

“The environment now has completely changed,” Bivens said. “Now we’ve got everything in one location, which is extremely helpful. That required a lot of changes to be made.”

Those changes cost money. The church had success in recent years with yard sales, but they were an undertaking for volunteers. The idea arose of a thrift shop where mainly church members donate items, and proceeds help the school and church facilities.

The school is something, Bivens said, that was a priority when two church merged a few years ago. Back then Pine Grove Baptist Church had extensive facilities but dwindling numbers. The Journey had the opposite issue. So they came together.

“The academy was something we really wanted to keep,” Bivens said. “We felt like a Christian education was as important as anything we could do.”

Marty Miller, lead teacher with the academy, said changes will be noticeable when students return this fall. The academy operates on the same schedule as the Clover School District. The biggest change will be so many students all together in one place.

“We’re kind of spread out over the whole campus,” Miller said.

The classical Christian curriculum at Pine Grove includes Bible study, early reading and cursive writing. Students tend to “reach those goals a little sooner” in reading and writing due to small classes, from four to about 10 students in some classes.

“It’s a very affordable tuition for parents,” Miller said. “It’s a quality education. You really can’t get it more affordable in that area.”

While changes to the school are happening now, future changes to the sanctuary area could help the church make better use of its space. Which would, in turn, help the school. Meaning the thrift shop could continue playing a vital role.

“That is our auditorium,” Miller said.

McClain, who ran a consignment store in Minneapolis before coming to the area, said items will be laid out in two rooms in the current life center.

“One tends to be more the smaller items — kitchen, jewelry, clothing, those sorts of things,” she said. “The other one we have the larger items. We have furniture. We have a bookcase full of books.”

Items will vary. What doesn’t get sold likely will make its way to Sweet Repeat. What does, will help the school.

“We’ve kind of stressed baby items because we’ve had a lot of people come in looking for baby items,” McClain said.

The school has five teachers and 38 students. For more information, call 803-810-0555.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Deal hunters in Lake Wylie have another spot to try. How a school could benefit.."