History
What started with a vision for a global center for evangelicalism was fulfilled on December 9, 2010 when World Olivet Assembly together with the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) dedicated the Evangelical Center in Binghamton, NY.
“For the first time since its establishment over a century ago, the World Evangelical Alliance now has a center to gather and unite Christian leaders from around the globe with the establishment of a new facility in upstate New York,” the Christian Post reported at the time.
Described as “a study center, research center, conference center, a place to engage in strategic thinking, and a place of personal and corporate renewal,“ then-Secretary General of the WEA Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe emphasized his hope that it would especially be a place of prayer: “in all the activities that we will be engaged in this place, that will become the most strategic because that’s what Jesus asked us to do: pray for his Kingdom to come.”
In the beginning of 2016, the Evangelical Center moved to its new home on Olivet University’s campus in Dover, NY, just sixty miles north of New York City. The inauguration service was attended by evangelical leaders from around the world who expressed their hope for the Center to become a place of synergy and collaboration, where ideas and stories can be exchanged and where godly leaders can strategize how to expand the Kingdom of God.
Spanning some 1,000 acres (4 km2), it features more than 70 buildings. It has hosted meetings, conferences and training programs aimed at encouraging unity and collaboration within the diverse global family of evangelicals and equipping the next generation of leaders.
Looking ahead, the Evangelical Center envisions to become a place of innovation that supports global missions and equips the Church with relevant resources for evangelism, and information and tools to respond to issues of concern to the Church, such as religious persecution and human trafficking, among others.