God's Way Thrift Store moves to Route 1

God's Way Thrift Store has moved from its spacious Airport Road warehouse to a pair of storefronts along Route 1.

Founder the Rev. Roger Wood said the Rehoboth Beach building was sold, and the thrift store had to vacate by Nov. 30. “We had so much in there it took us five days to clear everything out,” he said. “And we didn't miss a beat.”

The good news is that the organization found a new location not far away; the bad news is the new location is about a tenth the size of the old one. “We are going from about 20,000 square feet to about 3,000 square feet,” Wood said.

The new thrift store along northbound Route 1 – in the same center as Fins Ale House & Raw Bar and the Linen Outlet – is open for business.

The number of items offered at the new location will have to change, Wood said. Donations are still being accepted, and items not sold at the Rehoboth location will be transported to one of four other God's Way thrift stores statewide.

Next summer, Wood said, a brand-new store will open in Georgetown with the smaller operation staying open in Rehoboth. He's also looking at another larger location to possibly open near Route 1 next summer.

The Rehoboth store opened in July 2009. “We didn't want to move, but we couldn't find anything of comparable size that we could afford,” Wood said. “We didn't want to leave the Rehoboth Beach area. We've built up a strong clientele base; we were very blessed there in Rehoboth.”

He said the store averaged about 150 to 200 customers a day with many more during the summer season. “I know this is going to shock a lot of people,” he said.

Wood and his wife, Carrie, opened the first God's Way Thrift Store in downtown Milford 16 years ago with two bags of donated clothing. Today, they operate thrift stores in Rehoboth, Georgetown, and Milford with two stores in Dover, employing 30 people. Volunteers are also an important part of the God's Way operation.

The Woods collaborate with state agencies and the courts to provide jobs to people in need and those who need to work to pay off fines.

Wood says he never planned to get into the thrift store business. One of his God's Way shelter clients came up with the idea to open a thrift store to help support the ministry. “He had a background working with Salvation Army and really helped us to get the first store open,” Wood said.

Ministry is lifesaver for founder

The thrift stores are one part of the Woods' mission. The couple founded God's Way To Recovery in 1996.

Income from the stores supports the God's Way ministry, operated out of the Milford location. It also helps support several other nonprofit organizations that help those in need.

The mission was a lifesaver for Wood who had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for 13 years. He hit rock bottom when he attempted suicide in 1993 and eventually ended up in a detoxification center.

“That's where I gave my life to God,” he said. “What happened really was a miracle because I was high everyday. I've been clean and sober for 22 years.”

Wood spent the next two years healing the family scars he created with his addictions and became an ordained minister in 1997, going to school in Pittsburgh, Pa. “It's there I worked on the streets and got hands-on training,” he said.

For 13 years, Roger operated a men's shelter in downtown Milford. The building is the current location of a homeless veterans women's shelter.

Wood is not one to slow down. This week he is spending time in Florida to set up a thrift store to support a church near Tampa. He's also writing a book to share his testimony.

God's Way Thrift Store, now at 19269 Coastal Highway, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The phone number is 227-2314.