Waco Trib
Within an hour of putting it on the market this January, he had his ideal buyer: the church next door.
Mighty Wind Worship Center at 1100 Washington Ave. closed this week on the historic structure, which has operated as Brazos Funeral Home since Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey moved to 6101 Bosque Blvd. about 16 years ago.
“It was obviously with mixed feelings for me to let that facility go, because it’s been in my family for 91 years,” said Bailey, president of Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey. “It really warms my heart that it will still be a place of ministry. It’s a different kind of ministry, but ministry is ministry. I worshipped with them on Sunday, and I felt welcome. It’s a natural thing to happen for that building, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Senior Pastor Joe Carbajal of Mighty Wind said he has had his eye on the funeral home property since the church moved to the former Fellowship Bible Church building in about 1999. Back then, he asked Bailey to give him right of first refusal if he ever sold, and Bailey remembered.
Carbajal said the property solves a parking crunch that has developed as the congregation has grown to more than 700. Mighty Wind officials are looking at several options for the 14,000-square-foot building, including offices, educational facilities, community outreach space and even temporary housing for people awaiting substance abuse treatment. It also could function as an event center for weddings and quinceañeras, he said.
Carbajal said he’s not planning major changes to the building, at least for now.
“We’re just pleased to be able to purchase a landmark like this funeral home,” he said. “People ask me, ‘Why would you want to buy a funeral home since it’s all about death and we’re about life?’ That’s just it: We want to put life into that building.”
Carbajal, a Waco native who has been senior pastor through most of Mighty Wind’s 28-year life, said he has preached many times at the funeral home at 1124 Washington Ave.
Wilkirson-Hatch built the Spanish Colonial-style building in 1925 and later connected it to a former fire station and dance studio next door on 12th Street.
After the company moved to Bosque Boulevard in 2000, the downtown location became Funeraria Brazos, catering to Spanish-speaking families. Since 2002 it has been known as Brazos Funeral Home, owned by the families of Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey but operated separately. The Brazos Funeral Home met a community need for lower-cost services but didn’t generate much revenue, Bailey has said. In addition, the building suffered interior damage in last year’s storms and will need repairs.
Carbajal said the church plans to repair the damage, but overall, the building appears to be sound.
Carbajal said the building will help accommodate the steady growth Mighty Wind continues to enjoy.
In addition to the 700 congregants at Mighty Wind, several hundred more attend churches that have been planted in other parts of town by Mighty Wind. The downtown church has a diverse demographic makeup, with about 60 percent Hispanic, 30 percent Anglo and 10 percent black, Carbajal said.
Carbajal said the church has grown by welcoming people who haven’t been part of a church before.
“Our folks aren’t coming from another denomination,” he said. “We take in folks who have never been in a church before, taking them off the streets and introducing them to a personal relationship with Christ.”