An historic Fort Worth church is reopening its sanctuary doors after a $2 million renovation. Broadway Baptist Church, located at 305 W. Broadway Avenue, spent the summer fixing up the interior of its aging building.
On Sunday, the church celebrated its rebirth with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price was among the esteemed guests.
“The commitment that they made to stay in the near Southside and downtown after more than 100 years,” she said. “This is a great neighbor, they served people from the time that Fort Worth was a part of Hell’s Half Acre, the old hole in the wall gang. Broadway was serving people then and they continue to do it and so we’re delighted to have those good neighbors with us.”
Congregation members like Corlis Davis were in awe when they saw the new sanctuary for the first time.
“It’s like I’m in heaven. It’s like I’m walking into God’s Eden. God’s heaven,” she said.
Senior Pastor Brent Beasley said the restoration efforts worked around the unique features of the church, which includes 33 stained glass windows and one of the largest pipe organs in the world.
“To give it kind of a new light and freshen it up is just very meaningful to everyone I think,” he said. “It’s a symbol of course of kind of a rebirth of the congregation and this area, and so it’s very exciting for everyone.”
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Renowned pianist Van Cliburn attended this church until his death in 2013. The pipe organ is named after his mother, who was also a member.
Davis said the face lift does renew her energy for serving others around her. She said she began attending the church in 2006 and was a recipient of the help the organization has regularly given to its community members for 130+ years.
“They came and visited me when I was in the hospital, and this church helped me a lot with the food the clothing,” she said. “When you come into this church you’ve got a church family for life. And when you go home, you still got that church family for life.”
Beasley hoped the new pews, flooring, and seating among other upgrades will help welcome a new generation of the faith community that will upkeep the tradition of putting its neighbors first.
“It’s a real investment here in this part of town, between the thriving downtown Fort Worth and the up and coming near Southside. And we’re in a great place right here. So we’re excited about the future,” he said.
