By MissionWake News Staff Writer
Go To Nations, a 40-year global missions organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is leading a bold initiative to combine long-term discipleship with practical tools that transform communities. Their work, in partnership with GloDev, a nonprofit specializing in sustainable development, has become a model for how Gospel-centered mission can meet both spiritual and physical needs across the globe.
Aquaponics as a Tool for Transformation
At the heart of this strategy is aquaponics. This innovative farming method merges fish cultivation with vegetable production in closed-loop ecosystems that use 90 percent less water than traditional agriculture. With systems now active in Honduras, Kenya, Thailand, and the Philippines, the impact is real. Orphanages, schools, and entire communities are not just receiving food. They are learning how to produce it sustainably.
“GloDev is about helping the poor help themselves,” said Dr. Jerry Williamson, President of Go To Nations. “We recently built an aquaponics system at an orphanage in Honduras. The children are harvesting vegetables and fish. We believe this is a powerful tool for transformation.”
From Florida to the Nations: Training Ground for Global Impact
The Eden Gardens Training Center in Northeast Florida serves as the epicenter for global equipping. Founded by Tim and Nancy Lovelace, Eden Gardens began as a vision in prayer and has grown into a 120-acre sustainable farm, educational hub, and launchpad for aquaponics missions around the world. It is a place where pastors, missionaries, and future leaders are trained, equipped, and sent.
Eden Gardens is more than a demonstration site. It offers hands-on certifications in aquaponics, family gardening, and micro-farm development. Through seasonal internships, local workshops, and full-time missionary training, participants are prepared to launch sustainable solutions in some of the world’s most underserved areas.
Gospel That Grows: Local Harvest, Lasting Change
The partnership between Go To Nations and GloDev is bearing fruit—both spiritual and tangible. In communities where these systems are installed, food insecurity is declining, children are learning science and stewardship, and local families are finding economic opportunity.“Sustainable solutions like aquaponics show that the Gospel is not just about what happens after we die. It’s about how we live, serve, and create today,” said Mick Richards, founder of MissionWake and media producer who documented Eden Gardens in the Building a Difference series. “This kind of work invites the Church to reimagine what missions looks like in a hurting and hungry world.”
Discipleship in Dirt and Water
This is not just about farming. It is about restoring hope through stewardship and multiplication. For Nancy Lovelace, Executive Director of GloDev, this work is deeply spiritual.
“We are called to restore broken systems and empower people to build,” she said. “Whether in the city or on the mission field, we can teach others to grow, create, and lead.”
This vision of restoration goes hand-in-hand with the broader mission of Go To Nations: long-term discipleship that raises up local leaders, strengthens communities, and delivers the Gospel through both word and action.
Raising Builders, Not Just Donors
Go To Nations and GloDev are now inviting churches, nonprofits, and missions-minded individuals to partner with them in expanding this global movement. Their goal is not only to build more aquaponics systems, but to raise up a generation of faith-driven innovators who believe the Gospel can renew lives and land alike.Through its Global Pathway training and Missions Internship programs, Go To Nations equips believers to step into full-time mission work. Whether a student, a pastor, or a marketplace leader, there are clear on-ramps for getting trained, deployed, and resourced to bring real transformation to communities in need.
