Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association gifted $9.4 million headquarters in Homewood

The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association, now based in Mountain Brook, is in the process of relocating to Homewood, thanks to a $9.4 million building gifted to them by a real estate developer.

The 203,511-square-foot building at 210 Wildwood Parkway, formerly used by Wells Fargo, will be used for the new STS Institute, a two-year trade school for church youth pastors and worship leaders. The institute will start this semester with a focus group of 10 students.

STS, or Strength to Stand, is the student arm of the association.

The building will also serve as the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters.

The association was outgrowing its space in the Mountain Brook Office Park, and as the vision for the STS Institute was unfolding, the organization began talking with real estate agents, and the building on Wildwood Parkway was mentioned, said Jordan Cox, the association’s communications director.

SDEA couldn’t afford to buy the building, but after some conversations and the building going unsold at auction, the owner — Patriot Equities, a suburban-Philadelphia commercial real estate company — offered to gift the building to SDEA, Cox said.

The 35-year-old SDEA hosts evangelistic gatherings in cities across the United States through its UNITE movement and Safe at Home Faith & Family Nights in partnership with Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and the National Football League.

It also hosts thousands of students each year for camps.

The new campus will become the centerpiece of its evangelistic work and position the ministry to continue for years into the future, said Dawson, the founder and CEO of the association.

“There was a time when SDEA had a birth, and we thought it might have a death, but now it’s become a legacy ministry,” he said in a news release. “We’re passionate about reaching the next generation and believe if we can reach them, we can reach America.”

For more information, visit scottdawson.org.

Editor's note: This story was updated with the name of the company that donated the building to the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association at 12:11 p.m.