Vermont, one of the nation’s least religious states, may not seem like the obvious place for a Christian university. That’s the point, says Tommie Zito, a Florida evangelist who just announced plans to turn the former Green Mountain College campus in Poultney into the gospel-preaching Z University.

As a traveling Pentecostal preacher, Zito tries to spread the gospel where it’s in shorter supply. “I don’t want to be in the Bible Belt . . . so, Vermont’s perfect,” Zito said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Well, mostly. Zito, who is based in South Florida, joked that Walmarts and Italian restaurants are also in relatively short supply in the Green Mountain State. But he’s had no trouble finding Vermonters who are “hungry spiritually,” he said.

Z University will open in August 2027, Zito announced in a Facebook video he recorded at Disney World on the nation’s 250th birthday, adding that he chose July 4 to make the announcement “as a present to the United States.” “God picked the least-churched state in America” — Vermont — for the site of a third great awakening, he said. Just as importantly, “God gave us a great deal.”

Zito did not name Green Mountain College, which closed amid declining enrollment and financial pressures in 2019, in the post. However, he told the Globe that his agreement with Raj Bhakta, the whiskey magnate who bought the campus in 2020 and later decided to give it away, is almost finalized. He hopes to meet with town officials later this month.

Paul A. Donaldson, Poultney’s town manager, did not confirm or deny a deal but said that no information had been provided to the town from either the owner or the prospective purchaser, and that there would be a permitting process at the town and state levels. It is “an evolving development,” he wrote via email.

Larry Schall, head of the regional accrediting agency, the New England Commission of Higher Education, said he knew “nothing” of Z University but noted accreditation doesn’t transfer from one institution to another and that gaining status takes several steps and a number of years.

While the deal may be a good one for Zito and his team of fellow evangelists, Bhakta estimated in previous reports that it would cost $200 million to restore the campus — which includes dormitories and dining spaces, athletic fields, a gymnasium, and a pool — along with at least $1 million annually in operating costs. However, Zito said the cost of maintaining the campus without totally rebuilding it would be considerably less.

Meanwhile, some town residents are scratching their heads. Rebecca Cook, director of Poultney Public Library, saw Zito’s Facebook post after a friend shared it. Cook said it left her with “a lot of confusion because it sounded like a really official announcement with a really serious plan,” but parts of the video appeared to be “very clearly AI generated, which always makes you wonder these days if you’re seeing real information or not.”

In response, Zito said some AI may have been used to “motion the pictures,” but that the drone footage and photos of the campus are authentic.