WS Chronicle

Whole Man Ministries (WMM) has done it again. The church has renovated yet another home for a homeless veteran. This is the second home the church has renovated for a veteran this calendar year.

The latest home the church renovated on Thurmond street was an ambitious venture for the church as they completed it in just five months. The church was initially aiming for the home to be ready on Veteran’s Day, however, finishing during the holiday season is just as good.

“We were able to present this home to a veteran that was homeless, sleeping in the basement of his sister’s home as a result of a couple of crises in his life,” said Bishop Barry Washington, senior pastor of Whole Man Ministries. “We are ecstatic about what we were able to do and how we were able to do it.  

“Usually it takes us about 12 months to do a house and we were fortunate to speed this one up to five months because of the support we got. Imagine if we were able to get support on every project like this, how many more veterans we could take off the street and how fast we could accommodate them while they are going through a crisis. That is what I take away from this project here. It takes a village, it takes a community, it takes other organizations, other churches getting involved with projects like this.”

The finishes and amenities in the latest home renovated by WMM are some of the best the church has ever put into any of the previous projects. Washington was intentional about making sure they put the best into the home.

“It is the best house we have done. We were able to put more in it. We had more finances, we had more support, so we were able to put a whole lot more in it,” Washington said. “We had Home Depot come over and they were able to lend a hand and provide $10,000 to the project through the Home Depot Foundation.

“We also had Truist Bank and they came over with their employees and volunteers. They were able to furnish the whole home. We had Gwyn Electrical and Plumbing do the heating and air totally. They did a great job for us. We had Tom and Julie (Dubuisson) running the whole project. They are incredible people and they helped us with the last part that brought us across the finish line. We had Nehemiah Few, they came out and they have helped us for the last 10 years and we certainly appreciate them.

“We had a number of organizations come out. We had Knollwood Baptist Church come out and make a big difference. They helped us with the last project, and they helped us with this one as well. It takes a lot of people coming together and they want to be a part of helping another veteran have a warm home to come home to. We also had Bondage Breakers partner with Whole Man Ministries. We also had the City of Winston-Salem that partnered with us.”

Washington says he was frustrated by the fact they were not able to finish the home by their first finish date of Veterans Day. However, he feels giving a home to a homeless veteran is the best Christmas gift you could give.

“I am trying to find words to describe it because you see how cold it is out here and we are on the eve of Christmas. During these holidays, you are either happy or you’re sad and a homeless veteran is sad, but to be able to present to him a home that is fully furnished, you cannot beat it,” Washington said about his emotions. “All he needs to do is come in and sit down. To be able to do it just in time for Christmas is beautiful.”

With a normal timeframe of a year for renovations, taking on such a task was risky for Washington and WMM. That meant he really had to rely on the kindness and generosity of others to help him complete his task and they came through.

“I was hoping, and I was pushing for the goal of November 11 on Veterans Day, but we were not quite finished because of the skilled laborers that had other scheduled projects and that kind of put us back a little bit. I didn’t know that we would finish it that quick, but having the support we had, that was the difference,” said Washington.

WMM is not stopping with this home, either. Washington stated he has his eyes on his next project already. He is hoping to acquire a multi-unit complex that has enough land to build another eight-unit complex on it. With this project, WMM would not only be able to help veterans, but would also be able to assist low-income families as well.

“We can’t do it without the Lord’s help and the help of the community,” he said.

Washington says he has long had a vision of 42 church vans at one of their projects. He feels that type of unity would make a tremendous statement about how churches can go beyond the walls and work together. He says WMM welcomes any assistance in their future endeavors.

Whole Man Ministries and Bondage Breakers Ministries wanted to give a special thank you to Tom and Julie Dubuisson, Gwyn Electrical and Plumbing, Truist Bank, Home Depot, the City of Winston-Salem, Knollwood Baptist Church, Kenny Benge, Nehemiah Few, Tony Krofchik, Eric DeMarko, King Christian Center, Pastor Johnny Boggs, Chris Dolan, Darren Cranfill, Ed Plummer, and so many others for making it possible for another veteran to come in out of the cold and rain just in time for Christmas.