Wiggins church seeking aid in moving old building to new location

WIGGINS, Miss. (WLOX) - The Bethel Baptist Church in Wiggins is asking for your help.

The church is looking to move its former building, now the Veteran of Foreign Wars building, onto its current property.

Pastor Freddie Wegner said he’s been with the church for more than 14 years. He said the church has been in Stone County since 1925 with a few different locations.

“From my understanding, the original building was purchased through Camp Shelby and was brought from Camp Shelby down to Wiggins. From 1930′s to the 1940′s that was Bethel Baptist. It then grew into the address Hatton Avenue in the 1950′s. Somewhere in that 1950′s range, that building went to the county at some point in time,” Wegner said.

Wegner said after the county got the building, it was turned into a VFW post.

He said last year, the Stone County Board of Supervisors gave the church the abandoned building at no cost; however, the church was responsible for the building’s moving cost.

Now, Wegner wants to move the building onto the church’s current property.

“It’s where we would have a place of worship right here and then just walk right to the church where you could see this is the before and this is the after,” Wegner said.

Wegner said the building would be used for special occasions without any power or plumbing.

“People be hot and have their little fans. We’ll get the most uncomfortable pews for people to appreciate what we have in here and able to see what people generations ago did for worship,” Wegner said.

Wegner is asking for a company that’s willing to help move the building due to expensive estimated cost of $50,000-$75,000.

“Once we get it here, we have the help and manpower to put it together. It’s just getting it from there to here,” Wegner said.

Wegner said with the church’s 100th anniversary right around the corner, he would love for his congregation to see its transition.

“It would be great in 2025 to have a great Sunday morning singing and preaching and we could see the church how it is started and how it is now,” Wenger said.

Wegner said old VFW records and murals on the building will go back to the VFW.

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