NBA

Dwyane Wade gives his mother a church

Heat star has 'tears of joy' at dedication of Temple of Praise in Chicago

Nam Y. Huh / AP

Dwyane Wade, left, his mother Jolinda Wade and pastor LaDell Jones cut of the ribbon at the opening of their new church edifice at the Temple of Praise Church on Sunday.

“All I can say: Hallelujah!” Tragil Wade said.

Since becoming a Baptist pastor, Jolinda Wade’s following — she shares the title of pastor with LaDell Jones, whom she befriended when they began minister training together in 2004 — had to meet in a small rented room, one that didn’t even give the NBA star’s mother space to move around while delivering her testimony.

But the new facility has plenty of room for dance and rejoicing — a move from “a space to a place,” as Tragil Wade put it.

“Today is the crossover,” Jolinda Wade said. “We’re in here today because of God’s goodness and God chose to use the heart of my son to do this for us ... and he trusts the heart of his mama. Ain’t that something?”

Somehow, he’s always trusted that heart.

Wade never turned his back on his mother, not even when she was bouncing between jail and prison and she was at rock bottom.

Since joining the NBA and amassing a small fortune, he hasn’t been shy about showering his mother in lavish gifts, including a car and a house. Of course, he never planned to give her a church.

Turns out, Jolinda Wade was trying to get loans for a church when she drove past the building that would eventually become her congregation’s home. It was Jan. 21, when she noticed the run-down facility was for sale. Three months later, without ever asking her son for the money — he decided on his own to make the gift — they signed the ownership papers.

Another month filled with work and renovation later, they were giving praise.

“My mother is not the kind of person who will come to me and ask me for this kind of favor. She’s so thankful for even the little things I’ve done for her,” Dwyane Wade said. “But it’s the dream of every man, every boy, to be able to give their mother everything they want. So that was my dream and this is her dream. To me, that makes this perfect.”

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