It Is Written Breaks Ground for New Ministry Headquarters

By: Annalyse Hasty, It Is Written, Inc.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new It Is Written ministry headquarters was held on July 10. More than 300 attended the event that took place in Collegedale, Tennessee, United States.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured It Is Written representatives, local government and business leaders, and Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership, including North American Division (NAD) President Dan Jackson, NAD Vice President of Media Gordon Pifher, Georgia-Cumberland Conference President Ed Wright, and Collegedale City Mayor Katie Lamb.

Guest speakers welcomed the ministry to Collegedale with open arms. Ben Wygal, assistant to the president of Southern Adventist University said that It Is Written “brings a legacy of providing hope and life to millions of people around the world and now that’s centered right here in Collegedale.”

During the event, It Is Written Speaker/Director John Bradshaw shared the ministry’s history of innovative media ministry and explained how the new ministry headquarters would enable more people to be reached with the gospel.

Originally headquartered in California, the 61-year-old media ministry moved to Tennessee in 2014 and has been leasing office and warehouse space in Chattanooga. In 2016, It Is Written selected the nearly nine-acre lot in Collegedale, Tennessee, as its permanent location because of the proximity to Southern Adventist University, a strong partner of the ministry.

In preparation for the groundbreaking ceremony, Bradshaw felled the first tree on the property and 16 shovels turned the soil. A large portion of the land will be cleared in the coming months and construction is expected to begin this fall.

Construction of the new ministry headquarters is targeted for a 2018 completion, with excavation beginning in August 2017. The two-story building will be 40,905 square feet and include office, studio, and warehouse space. The new ministry headquarters will also house a fitness center, resource shop, and mission museum. River Street Architecture of Chattanooga has completed architectural plans and P&C Construction of Chattanooga will serve as the general contractor on the project.

An original version of this report was posted on NAD Newspoints.