Since First Baptist Church began its medical ministry 10 years ago, it has outgrown every space used to provide health and dental care to Vicksburg’s working poor. Now, the ministry has a new, bigger space volunteers hope will reach more people — people who otherwise may fall through the cracks of Medicaid and private insurance coverage.

The Mafan Building, a two-story space on Adams Street, was donated to the church in July 2006 by a member who asked to remain anonymous. Renovations to the first floor are nearing completion in time for the ministry to have its first clinic Thursday. A dedication of the building is also planned for 3 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s a great blessing,” said Dr. Dan Edney, an internist at The Street Clinic.

The building has four exam rooms and a triage room for medical assessments, dental suites, a pharmacy, counseling rooms and reception area, in addition to a praise and worship room and small group rooms upstairs for the church’s Celebrate Recovery program. A records room is part of the new facility, the first time records have been in a space other than a hallway, Rosalye Baldwin, head of records, said. The building also has a lab, where blood is drawn and sent to River Region Medical Clinic, where results are returned for free.

The 3,500-square-foot facility has about 1,000 more square feet in space than the old building at 1017 Jackson St. Before that, the clinic was in a church-owned house on Harrison Street. The Mafan Building will be the fourth location.

About 30 volunteers will gather at the new space every third Thursday, when patients are expected to fill the waiting area to receive care. While the clinic has averaged between 70 and 90 patients each month, September brought 93, the most ever. Patients often begin arriving by 1 p.m. on the day of care, but doctors don’t begin seeing them until 5.

The growth is attributed to the services being God’s work, volunteers said.

“It’s God’s ministry. He has grown his mission,” said Rita Pugh, who heads volunteers who provide counseling services to each patient.

The medical ministry was the brainchild of Edney, who felt called by God to give more of himself.

“God expected more of me than just being a good, Christian doctor,” he said. “He expected me to serve him the way He wanted to be served.”

While Good Shepherd Community Center has provided free health care in Vicksburg during the day for a number of years, Edney knew the need for a night clinic was still great.

The vision caught on with church members and, by October 1997, patients were being treated in the basement of the church on Cherry Street. The first night had no patients, but, since then, people have lined up at the door to receive the care, which comes packaged with spiritual ministry.

“The main focus is about leading people to the Lord. We told our doctors, ‘You are important, but this is eternal,'” church member and volunteer Hester Pitts said.

Pugh said she and other spiritual counselors arrive at the clinic by 4 p.m. to take each patient into one of the three counseling rooms, where printed materials on Christianity are available.

The clinic has become a full-service communitywide effort that includes volunteers from First Baptist and other churches and organizations.

“It’s an extensive ministry. So many other people have” become involved, Edney said.

Dentist Martin Chaney joined the clinic about six years ago to provide dental care, which consists of extracting teeth. He said he hopes to eventually provide dental cleanings.

But, the large volume of patients — about 18 each time — hasn’t allowed for expanded services. Dentist Michael Ellis is also volunteering his time at the clinic.

Chaney said having the extra space is “an answer to a prayer” to continue providing the service to the community. “It’s a definite need. But, also, (for the patients) to know Jesus is the primary reason. It’s Jesus in action.”

The ministry is intended to reach people who don’t have insurance and are unable to receive Medicare or Medicaid.

“It’s for people who fall through the cracks,” Pitts said.

While medical professionals have treated all ailments, Edney said many patients, especially those suffering from diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, use the clinic as their long-term care providers.

“There is a group of patients that are our folks,” he said. “They come every month — all free of charge.”

A full-scale pharmacy is on-site at the new clinic. Medicines are collected through grants, donations after a family member dies and new legislation that allows donations of medicines from nursing homes, Edney said. The clinic does not offer narcotics as part of its pharmaceutical collection. Church member Kerry Pitts keeps a record of all of the medicines on computer.

“Our pharmacists inspect everything and re-bottle it,” Edney said.

The new building includes a waiting area for patients to receive their medication. The space is part of a complete renovation church members Richard Stuart and D.D. Davidson began in March with the help of volunteer and some contract labor. Most of the work, which included new walls, floors, plumbing, heating and cooling, was done on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Since the building was turned over to the church, Celebrate Recovery, a program that focuses on Christ-centered recovery from all addictions, began meeting upstairs on Sundays and Tuesdays. Jim Karel, a church member and 26-year recovering alcoholic, leads the program with other church volunteers. He said the increased space has done wonders for welcoming people who feel hopeless to a safe place. About 45 people attend meetings each Sunday, which include a praise and worship service and small group meetings for different addictions. Men and women are separated for all small group meetings.

“We’re here to help people. We’re giving away what God’s given us,” he said. “It helps us to look at ourselves, where we are, what we’ve done and the problems we’ve caused — to live a changed life.”

A Clothes Closet also takes up a room upstairs allowing patients of the clinic to pick out clothes they might need for themselves or their families.

The Mafan Building, built in the 1950s and named for Fanny Peeples and the late Mary Newman, has a rich history. It has served as offices for doctors and dentists and the headquarters for Warren-Yazoo Mental Health from the 1970s through the mid-1990s. It is, perhaps, best-known for housing the Mississippi State Employment Security Commission and Mississippi Employment Service.

Now, it will continue to serve the community as it has before.

“This has been a spiritual journey. It’s really been a blessing,” Stuart said.