Mission Waco history

An outreach Bible study established in 1992 for five homeless men who slept under the Interstate 35 underpass near Baylor continued to grow.

In 1993, Mission Waco purchased and renovated the carpet store next door to the Dorrell’s home for their program center and poverty simulation site.

In 1994, a more challenging building opportunity came with the purchase of an old bar and the acquisition of an abandoned shopping center at the corner of N. 15th Street and Colcord Ave.

In 1995, another ministry called “Manna House,” a ten-bed residential alcohol/drug recovery home was established by Jason Pittman of Mission Waco.

Manna House had closed in 2000 for renovations and restructuring.

Mike Stone was hired as executive director in 2001.

In 2002, through the generosity of the Meyer Foundation, Mission Waco was given a building for our children’s program.

The Voucher Center was relocated to the back of the warehouse area, and that space is used to distribute clothing to men, women and children. It was renovated in 2003 as The Clothesline, a stylish boutique selling women’s clothing (provided by donations from individuals and area retailers). Profits from The Clothesline help offset the cost of our Manna House program.

However, it was not until 2004 that Mission Waco chose to establish a chronic homeless shelter, called My Brother’s Keeper.

In 2005, the Mission Waco Health Clinic began two nights per week, serving the poor with acute care by volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, chiropractors, orthopedic doctors, etc.

On January 9, 2006, World Cup Cafe, the 42-seat corner restaurant at Jubilee Center (1321 N. 15th at Colcord), opened with specialty coffees and pastries.

The youth center (formerly “Alpha Quest”) got a well-deserved makeover in 2007 to become a great hangout place for teens with video games, a pool, foosball, weights, computers, and a library.

In 2010, Galveston Urban Ministries (GUM) was launched through a start-up grant by Christian Mission Concerns by Mission Waco to serve among the poor in Galveston, Texas.

In 2011 the Meyer Center also added mental health and relapse prevention services with the help of the Baylor University psychology department.

The Fair-Trade Market expanded again in 2012, allowing more display space for an increasing variety of gift items, as well as more seating for the cafe and special events.

The “Seth Dorrell Memorial Fund” was created in 2013 by Seth’s family and friends in memory of his commitment to economic development in the poorest areas of the world to enhance the work of Mission World in areas of Haiti, Mexico, and India.

Our youth job training program leveled up in the summer of 2014 with the addition of the “World Bowl” food truck in the new parking lot behind World Cup Cafe—offering a basic chicken and rice base plus a choice of sauces representing Haitian, Indian and Mexican cuisine.

The old Safeway grocery building was purchased in August 2015—it had long been a site for some variation of a convenience store and one-liner games—but was a key piece of redeveloping the corner of N. 15th & Colcord.

A very important addition to Mission Waco’s ventures was the Jubilee Food Market in 2016.

2017 started with the groundbreaking for Urban REAP (Renewable Energy and Agriculture Project) next door to Jubilee Food Market.