By Nicole Collins
The church building that housed the Woodruff Church of God for decades sold to another church body called the Open Heaven Slavic Christian Fellowship.
After being on the market for 29 days, the church building and small block building behind the church at 172 Poole St. Extension sold on Oct. 29 for $400,000, according to Anthony Weston, the Keller Williams realtor who sold the property.
Built in 1960, the nearly 20,000 square foot church sits on 3.29 acres. The rear building is 3,120 square feet.
The Christian Life Center where the Woodruff Church of God held its special events, classes and other activities, was not part of the sale to Open Heaven. At press time, it was on the market for $400,000.
The Woodruff Church of God has been a staple in the Woodruff community since 1933. In October 2019, the church moved from the Poole Street location to its newly built home on Hwy. 101.
Weston, who has been in the real estate for more than three years, is a Woodruff native and graduate of Woodruff High School.
“I have had the honor to sell multiple homes in Woodruff so far. Though I don’t live there anymore, Woodruff is home to me. These are my people, and this is where I proudly come from. It is definitely my focus area or seems to be,” said Weston.
Open Heaven Slavic Christian Fellowship is a multi-cultural community that is a part of the Assemblies of God. The fellowship is led by Pastor Sergey V. Zaytsev. Services are usually in Russian with an English translation, according to the organization’s Facebook page.
The congregation was meeting at a rented building in Greenville but was asked to stop gathering in the space because of the COVID-19 pandemic, also via Facebook. This prompted the search for a new permanent location for the church.
The Woodruff Times contacted Pastor Zaytsev for this article, but he was not available prior to press time to provide more information about his church.
Author: Tracy Sanders
