We are ready to share what transpired regarding the growth of Hallelujah Acres from 2001 to 2012. In case you missed the previous posts about the Hallelujah Acres Early Days and Growth, go back and read them now.
Hallelujah Acres Diet
2001 – Hallelujah Acres Purchases Shipping Building
By 2001, the original 23,500 square foot Hallelujah Acres ministry building we had moved into in 1997 was beginning to become too small. Do we need to relocate again or did God have something else planned for us? As God had done several times before, He was there once again to meet our needs so the ministry could continue to expand. Right next door to Hallelujah Acres there was a printing/shipping business and there building was no longer adequate to meet their needs. They had built a new building in another location in town to house their business and their old building became available for a very attractive price. This building had 23,000 square feet of space and was exactly what we needed to expand. It even had a docking station for 18-wheelers. It was almost too good to be true, but that’s God! We purchased the building and moved our shipping and warehousing into that building in 2001. It has continued to provide Hallelujah Acres room to expand. It has been amazing how God has, ever since Hallelujah Acres had its beginning in 1992, always been there at just the right moment to meet our expansion needs as the need arose.
2002 – Hallelujah Acres Introduces BarleyMax
BarleyMax was the first product to carry the Hallelujah Acres label. For the previous 10 years, Hallelujah Acres had been marketing a barley powder product from another company. Because here at Hallelujah Acres we had our own scientist and laboratory available, we tested some of the best barley grass powders on the market. We also tested some barley powder sent to us a year prior — which had been sitting in a plastic zipper lock bag under a desk for an entire year. To our amazement, the barley powder that had been sitting for a year tested higher in nutrient values, enzymes, antioxidants, etc. than any of the others. We were thrilled to have stumbled (or was it God?) on this incredible barley powder and began marketing it under the Hallelujah Acres label. This new barley product was grown organically and, because no heat was used in its processing, it had no need for stabilization with brown rice or maltodextrin as opposed to the product we had been marketing for the previous 10 years. Because there was no need for a stabilizer in this new product, we were able to reduce serving size from a tablespoon to a teaspoon, thus substantially reducing the cost per serving. We named this new product “BarleyMax” and it became an instant hit! To this day, BarleyMax remains our flagship product and is shipped to some 139 countries. BarleyMax is the most important nutrient Rhonda and I consume each day. Since the introduction of BarleyMax in 2002, Hallelujah Acres has developed BeetMax, CarrotJuiceMax, TrioMax, Survival Bars, Snack Bars, Kale Chips, Nourishing Soups, and more!
2003 – First Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center
Bev and Chet Cook are a couple who had come through our first Health Minister training in 1994 and who had built a tremendously successful health ministry in Houston, Texas. They began receiving inquiries for a more hands-on way of learning The Hallelujah Diet apart from just listening to a CD or reading a book. Bev and Chet rose to the challenge, bought a large home in Lake Lure, North Carolina, and opened the first Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center. It was an instant success as people from across America and even foreign countries began coming to spend a week or two to learn how to do The Hallelujah Diet with a "personal trainer." Soon its capacity of eight people became too small to handle the demand and a second Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center was opened in Plant City, Florida. Then as demand increased one opened in Branson, Missouri and last year in Parkersburg, West Virginia. These Lifestyle Centers have been extremely popular and several new locations are being planned.
2003 – Hallelujah Acres Café Opens Its Doors
The original building we moved into in 1997 had a large commercial kitchen. It sat idle for several years, but around the year 2000 we began to use it to prepare carrot juice and healthy meals for our staff. Talk about the Lord providing all things well! We began providing two free 8-ounce glasses of organic carrot juice for each of our staff that year and this has continued to the current day. Around the year 2003 we opened the doors to the public and began providing a tremendous all you can eat organic salad bar in a corner of the auditorium. The salad bar was later moved into a hallway and several classrooms converted into dining rooms. Then in 2010 (following a fire in the building in 2009), we converted two classrooms into a first-class dining hall and started serving gourmet meals. In order to provide a faster lunch for customers on the go, we converted the sit-down restaurant into an "express" format. Today, the Hallelujah Acres Cafe Express offers a world-class vegan menu with daily specials, a juice and smoothie bar, as well as catering options. The café is part of our large health food store, which carries a wide variety of health products as well as bulk foods and fresh, organic produce.
2007 – Hallelujah Acres Purchases 150 Acres Of Land
By 2007, Hallelujah Acres was once again on the hunt for a place to expand. And lo and behold, right across the street, a 150 acre tract of land became available. It was bare land (a cow pasture) and we began to dream big dreams of how this land would be a great place to eventually move all Hallelujah Acres facilities. We also planned to build a motel, a larger health food store, a restaurant, and even a residential village. We dreamed some very big dreams for that land! We purchased the land, began the process infrastructure, and the City of Shelby even agreed to bring sewage and water to the property. What became known as "The Villages of Hallelujah Acres" was designed to contain 600 residences, including 190 condominiums. It was the first Christian Community in the world designed to promote healthy living! By 2010 the infrastructure and utilities were in place and we were ready to start selling lots — Rhonda and I were the first buyers and we live there today. Today, sales at The Villages are increasing dramatically and we are currently building an average of one new home every month!
2009 — Fire In Hallelujah Acres Original Building
On May 2, 2009, following my “God’s Way to Ultimate Health” seminar, we closed the store and locked up the building around 4:00 p.m. About 6:00 p.m. that evening a staff member entered the building to find the entire structure engulfed in dense smoke and flames were shooting from a cabinet housing the security equipment. The fire department soon arrived and thankfully the fire damage was limited to the cabinet, some furniture, and ceiling tiles. However, smoke damage was extensive — every ceiling tile, floor tile, and carpet need replacing, and every wall in the entire 23,500 square foot building had to be washed and repainted. What initially looked like a tragedy turned out to be a blessing. The Lord had not only protected us from losing the building to the fire, but used the fire to bless us with a completely refurbished building. Because of the fire, our entire staff was forced to vacate their offices in the main building and moved to hastily prepared offices in our shipping and warehousing building. We thought this would only be a temporary move, but God had other plans! Placing all staff in a smaller area in the shipping building provided much better communication and less walking distance between departments than it had been in the main building where staff was scattered about. Today, most of our staff remain in the shipping and warehouse building that was intended as a temporary fix. How good the Lord has been through these past 20 years, guiding, protecting, and providing, sometimes before we even realized there was a need!
All I can say is: “To God be the glory, great things HE has done!”
2010 – Hallelujah Acres Television Has Its Beginning
In 2010 we hired a videographer. He had been working for many years with a Greenville, South Carolina television station and has two Emmy Awards to his credit! Since joining us he has been a very busy man producing videos for HATV, call letters for our very own “Hallelujah Acres Television” online TV station. He has helped us create three internet-based, dietary coaching programs, each of which is FREE of cost: 60 Days to Reclaim Your Health; 60 Days To A Hallelujah Waistline; and Exercise Essentials With Paul and Ann. We also have plans to go live with other online productions, including a live streaming version of my first-Saturday-of-the-month "God’s Way to Ultimate Health" seminars, and much more.
Future - A Number Of New Programs And Offerings Coming
With a current staff of 61 people, we are preparing to launch a number of new products and innovative programs. With an emphasis on the internet, we see Hallelujah Acres positioning itself to go forward in a new and exciting way as we continue to take God’s health message to the world. As I have previously shared regarding what has transpired in the growth of Hallelujah Acres, the words of that great Christian hymn come to mind:“To God be the glory, Great things He has done.”
Without God’s leading and provision, Hallelujah Acres would never have become a reality. Man can only do so much, but when God is in it, all things are possible. Thank you for your past support and we would appreciate your prayers as we go forward. Our goal is that someday, in some way, all Christians the world over will realize they don’t have to be sick! We want to provide them with the tools to make living sickness-free a reality in their lives. By the way, the information we share also works for non-Christians, but our desire is that all people the world over experience both physical and spiritual healing.
Next week, the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, we will have another exciting Health Tip to share with you.
