Welcome to today’s episode of Magnolia Musings podcast! A podcast focusing on the influences that shape everyday decisions in our journey through life, business and careers. Today, we are joined by Pastor Will Sheals, Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church.
Teacher, preacher and evangelist, Dr. William L. Sheals has been the Senior Pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Norcross, Georgia since 1980. He received a business degree from New York University and holds theological degrees from Florida Memorial Seminary and International Bible College.
Sheals’ experience in the business world includes acting as the former Vice President of the Mortgage Department of Carver Federal Savings and Loan Association in Harlem, New York. Subsequently, he managed the branch office of Beneficial Financial Company in the Bronx and worked as a disc jockey, a concert promoter and an actor and director off-Broadway. In Florida, he served as the Assistant Director of the Lakeland Housing Authority while pursuing his advanced studies there. He moved to Atlanta in 1979 to work as the Assistant Director of the Atlanta Housing Authority, but left the position after ten years to devote himself entirely to the rapidly-growing Hopewell Baptist Church, which was founded by former slaves after the Civil War.
Under Sheals’ direction since 1980, Hopewell has grown from a two-acre, one-building facility with 200 members to a thirty-acre campus called “The City of Hope,” with a membership of nearly 17,000, including over 60 ministries and auxiliaries. The City of Hope includes a senior citizens facility, a 500-member youth church, a child development center, a Christian Academy that teachers pre-school through eighth grade and a Bible College.
You can watch the video of the podcast here: https://youtu.be/x4VLCPKaTDI
For further information about Explore Gwinnett and upcoming events, visit ExploreGwinnett.org
This episode features three leaders who are playing key roles in bringing this vision to life — from design to construction to daily operations: Christina Nguyen, Senior Designer with architectual firm Perkins & Will; Hannah Sechrist, Director of Special Projects for Gas South District; and Monte Ortel, Chief Operating Officer for Gas South District.
Host Stan Hall introduces a project that has brought creativity and community spirit right into the heart of Sugarloaf, explaining how new artistic crosswalks are more than just ways to safely cross the street, but a reflection of who we are as a community, and how partnerships can bring meaningful ideas to life. Alyssa Davis, Executive Director of the Sugarloaf CID, and Alexandra Sorto, the artist behind the beautiful design called “Quilt”, join Stan to explore how the project came to be, the partnerships that made it possible, and what it means for Gwinnett.
