Over the past week and a half, One Community Church has been working to demolish the "old education wing" at its location due to structural problems that made that section of the building unusable.
"Looking at the structural damage and what it would cost to overhaul it and re-do it, it was just not cost effective to try to renovate or fix it," church pastor Jason Yarbrough explained this week.
Workers could be seen last week removing debris from the demolition of the building wing, and Yarbrough said work was almost complete on removing the wing as of Wednesday.
"Of course, we'll have to finish up that wall, close it in, and then we're going to paint the outside of the building, probably a lighter gray to white-ish, to match the newer part, but it won't be the same color," he said, referring to a new addition to the building occupied by One Community Church currently.
But, once the demolition is complete, the church hopes to restore the building's historic chapel, which Yarbrough said is structurally sound.
"The chapel is still in good shape, and we're currently in a campaign right now to restore the chapel. It'll be called the Community Chapel and we'll host weddings, funerals, everything," he said. "We're going to keep the authenticity. It's a beautiful old building; it has a lot of history, a lot of people baptized, married, children dedicated there. A lot has happened in that building."
Jack Godwin, a current member at Immanuel Baptist, which formerly occupied the building One Community is now located in, said the original church building was built in 1943, a year after the church was established after a split with Second Baptist Church.
"The preacher had to go to Washington DC to get a permit – it was during World War II – and he had to get permit approval to build and was granted permission," Godwin said. "They started building in 1943. There was a school, Sandy Land School, that the church purchased to tear down to relocate wood and brick to the new location."
Godwin said some charter members in the Beebe family are still members at Immanuel to this day. Before the new building was finished, members of the then-new church met at a Beebe family member's home before moving to South Side Elementary until construction on the new church was finished.
"Some in the church, Johnny Beebe being one of them, they were paid a nickel a brick to clean them. He gave every cent he made back to the church to pay for the building fund," Godwin said.
As the church's membership grew over the years, so did their original building, which is located at 701 S. West Ave. Godwin said the family life center was added on in 1983 – the same year he became a deacon at Immanuel – and another wing for children and Sunday school classes was added in 1995.
"Immanuel Baptist had experienced a lot of growth back in the 70s... We outgrew the sanctuary; it would fit about 350, 400 people, and we had outgrown that space. We had what they called dual Sunday school and dual services, where the preacher preached two sermons every Sunday morning," Godwin said. "Later, in 1995, we continued to experience growth of a lot of young people in the church and we had to build that new south wing."
Immanuel Baptist moved to its new location at 3209 W. Hillsboro in November, 2018, after more than a decade of considerations about moving. Godwin, who has been a member since 1956, said he's glad One Community Church was able to continue spreading the good word at the church building on West Avenue.
"It was a blessing to be able to leave Immanuel Baptist in the hands of One Community Church to continue using that space for its original design as a ministry for God," he said.
Yarbrough said those interested in contributing to the original chapel restoration fund can do so at One Community Church's website, occeldorado.com.
Demolition of the "old education wing" at One Community Church, formerly Immanuel Baptist Church, is seen on Jan. 11, 2023. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)
Timothy Finley and Ray Tatum remove debris from the yard at the old Immanuel Baptist Church building, where One Community Church is now located, on Jan. 11, 2023. The "old education wing" of the building is being demolished due to structural issues. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)