GOD int'l Headquarters Then & Now

When we acquired our current headquarters, we spent the next 40 days (and nights) intensively renovating the building and property in order to ready it for use.  Below are a series of 'then and now' photos to see

Part of being a hospitable presence as an organization is having a reception area where people feel welcomed. In 2016, we renovated the entrance to our building to create a larger reception area where guests can ask questions or be directed towards someone they have come to visit. The entrance also features 'Hopewell' History' wall commemorating the history of the neighborhood in which our headquarters resides.

The original classrooms built for the students of Stateland Elementary School were very large, sometimes holding up to 50 student in a room. Because the ratios in our Institute classrooms a much smaller teacher to student ratio, we subdivided these rooms to make 4 classrooms.

The former school cafeteria has been converted into a large room we call 'Nyumba', the word for 'home' in Swahili. The room's function is versatile, serving as venue for large gatherings like our Institute chapel or Bible Study at Center Street. The space also functions as the home for the The Arts at Center Street, a performing arts venue.

We turned one of the only classrooms with a sink into our Public Health Education Classroom. The room is home to our childbirth education program, public health course and a variety of community wide health seminars. Students at the Institute for G.O.D. and the Academy for G.O.D. are also able to attend labs and study tropical diseases through microscopes in this classroom.

Just outside the back door of our facility we turned what was a renovation junkyard into a pavilion that plays host to a variety of outdoor gatherings from lunch for the Academy students in warmer months, to lunch for Camp Skillz participants and other small group gatherings throughout the year.

What was formerly a large open classroom space was converted into a healthcare suite with multiple exam rooms.

On the west side of our property we created itinerant missionary housing for young people who are studying at our Institute.