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.
Browsing: Church Under the Bridge
Chip and Joanna Gaines hit television show “The Fixer Upper” created a brand for the city of Waco as the hosts revitalizing old, rundown houses. These houses are now unaffordable for the poor community.
Located at the corner of 4th Street and Daughtrey Avenue, the new building is estimated to be 12,000 square feet. The plan includes a coffee shop and pickleball court alongside the multipurpose space.
Before the space at 1319 N 15th St. became Jubilee Theatre, it was an adult theater known as “The Capri” — an avid hotspot for drug dealers and prostitutes until it shut down due to a recession. Mission Waco obtained the deed to the space for free in 1994, and it immediately began raising money to restore the building and craft it into a space for community theater.
Every Sunday since 1992, Jimmy Dorrell and Church Under the Bridge have been empowering people from all walks of life and redefining how to view homelessness and poverty.
“We all have this individual and unique gift and expression, and when we come together and support each other, we create a pattern,” La Valleur-Purvis said. “I use geometric shapes to represent that story in ‘Lines of Diversity’.”
The Baylor Lariat has compiled all the most important Waco-focused news since August. In chronological order, here they are.
Waco’s Church Under the Bridge meets on the corner of 4th street and I-35. The ministry reaches out to the community as a whole, from those living on the streets of Waco to students at Baylor and local residents.
Hesitant to be pegged as a theologian, Dr. Jimmy Dorrell, a part-time lecturer at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, said his ideology stems from an urgency to maintain a practical Christian faith and not from a desire to engage in theological discussion.
“I’ve always hated intelligent, fluffy theology,” he said. “If it’s true, I have to learn how to live out of it.”
For many, the underpass where Interstate Highway 35 crosses over South 5th Street in Waco marks just another section of Texas asphalt. But to others, it represents a place of hope, healing and changed lives.
On Sunday, Waco residents have the opportunity to learn about the life of the homeless by walking a mile in their shoes.
As God builds his church, sometimes he does it in a home, a park or a pizzeria, said Lindsay Cofield, director of multi-housing/organic churches for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Everyone has at some point, been asked the question: If your house suddenly went up in flames and you could only salvage one item, what would you race to save? The concept for a Baylor photography professor’s most recent book of portraits called “What I Keep” is a lot like this question. Through photographs, Susan Mullally documents underprivileged people and their most valued items.