International Offices Campus Marks 50 Years at Keith and 25th Location
Cleveland, TN—March 22, 2018—Fifty years ago today, church leaders gathered on the current campus of the Church of God International Offices to dedicate and cut the ribbon on a new four-story “general offices” building at Keith and 25th Streets.
General Headquarters as it appeared from 1968-2004 (click photo to enlarge)
Dedicated on May 22, 1968, the gleaming, contemporary edifice represented a new level of progress for the Church of God, which at the time had a worldwide membership of under 1 million. The building, now named the World Evangelization Center, housed all departments and ministries of the denomination with the exception of Pathway Publishing, which remained, and is today, located at the previous headquarters building on Montgomery Avenue.
The property acquisition and construction process began with a decision at the 1964 General Assembly to build a new headquarters. Between the four year period of Assembly approval to dedication, the process was led by general overseers Wade H. Horton and Charles W. Conn.
According to Like A Mighty Army, a history of the Church of God, author Charles W. Conn stated that, “Not since 1937 had there been a more acute need than in the late 1960s, when enlargement became a critical necessity. It was a period of such goodwill and progress that growth demanded a fundamental replacement of facilities, including the site, and possibly even a change in the headquarters city. All things considered, the General Assembly of 1964 elected to keep the headquarters in Cleveland but to greatly expand the entire home base of its international organization.”
At the time of acquisition, the location for the new office building was considered far north of the city, exemplified by the termination of what is now Keith Street at 25th Street. In the 50 years since the dedication, growth of the city has progressed far north of the intersection. At the time, enough acreage was purchased to allow for future expansion. That expansion took place with the construction of the Leadership and Communications and Discipleship and Education Centers in 2002-2004. A complete renovation of the original four story offices took place in 2004, with a re-dedication of the entire campus in September, 2005.
