International Christian mission buys CBC campus for $2.5M

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Good News Mission, a South Korea-based Christian organization with campuses on the U.S. coasts, purchased the former Central Bible College in north Springfield.

Michael Fine, principal of Deerfield, Illinois-based Fine & Co. LLC, which was contracted by Assembles of God to sell the campus, said Good News closed on the purchase March 1 for $2.5 million.

“They saw the geographical location of Springfield as a good way to tie their organization together,” he said.

Fine said Good News purchased the entire 66 acres that housed CBC at 3000 N. Grant Ave. until mid-2013, when the college merged into Evangel University along with Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. It’s sat vacant ever since, with Assemblies of God rejecting at least one offer and USA Veterans Hope Center laying out plans for the campus that never materialized.

Unlike previous attempts to sell the campus through an auction structure, Fine said Good News’ purchase was a straight sale. The campus has a market value of $10.09 million, according to Greene County assessor records.

Seth Ahn, a program manager with Good News Mission, said the organization intends to use the Springfield property for a pastoral training center, youth center and possible future camps.

Ahn said Good News currently has 10 campuses worldwide, including locations in New York and Los Angeles. The organization’s website indicates Good News represents some 178 Korean churches and has dispatched missionaries to 80 countries worldwide. It established the Mahanaim Bible College, which educates and trains Korean and foreign missionaries. Good News was founded in 1972 by Paster Ock Soo Park.

The former CBC campus comprises 24 buildings, including a gymnasium and four dormitories, undeveloped land, two ponds and a baseball field.