By Marisa Young | Reporter
Though their primary audience consists of the homeless population, Waco’s Church Under the Bridge is widening their outreach to increase attendance from Baylor students.
On Sunday, senior pastor Jimmy Dorrell welcomed almost two full rows of college students to the service. Despite the church’s majority population of homeless adults, Dorrell said the church would never have existed without the inclusion and dedication of students.
“When we began the church… 32 years ago, college kids were integral to what we did,” Dorrell said. “They would meet in my house every Sunday night… And that’s the way all this began, with students who saw the bigger world; they didn’t just go to church where [other] people went to church.”
Dorrell said he has an “admiration” for the young individuals who attend Church Under the Bridge, and he believes being part of such an atypical community helps them significantly grow in their faith and formation of their worldviews.
“This [church] makes you ask hard questions,” Dorrell said. “We attract students who are asking what I think are the important questions.”
One of these student attendees, Bellville senior Morgan Abel said she finds value in the diverse demographic of the church community.
“I think it’s really cool how everyone is extremely different, and we all come from different backgrounds and upbringings,” Abel said. “But we still somehow manage to accept each other on the spot and continue to love each other every day.”
In her time as part of Church Under the Bridge, Abel said she has learned that “a church is the people,” and she works to foster an environment where everyone is received with equal love.
“We’re going to preach it to you every day that we want you here, and not just here under the bridge, but in our arms, feeling loved and like you have a place here at all times,” Abel said.
Abel said she was drawn to the Church Under the Bridge because they prioritize radical inclusivity, inspired by that depicted in the Bible.
“This is what Jesus taught,” Abel said. “He said, ‘Hang around with sinners, hang around with drug addicts, hang around with the homeless people’… they have a lot to offer to the community.”
In the future, Dorrell hopes to take the growing student population of Church Under the Bridge further than I-35. He and his wife, Jan Dorrell, have previously led ministries which took students all over the world and allowed them to serve in places such as Haiti, Mexico City and India.
“Our goal wasn’t just to get [students] under a bridge, it was to help shape their worldview,” Dorrell said.
Students can attend service at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and partake in worship and conversation.
