Firefighters battled a massive fire at the historic First Baptist Dallas Church in downtown Dallas, Texas, which has stood since 1890, on Friday evening.
Fire crews arrived on the scene shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday. What was initially a response to a two-alarm fire ended up being four-alarms as the blaze spiraled out of control, causing the roof to partially collapse. The blaze has been contained as of Saturday morning.
Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress says he is grateful no congregants were injured. “We have experienced a fire in the Historic Sanctuary. To our knowledge, no one is hurt or injured, and we thank God for His protection. He is sovereign even in the most difficult times,” the pastor wrote in an X post shortly after the blaze was reported. He concluded his post by quoting Romans 8:28, which reads “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Jeffress was a prominent religious advisor to former President Donald Trump and made many trips to the White House during his first term.
First Baptist Dallas reportedly has a membership of more than 16,000 as of this report. The congregation currently worships in a state-of-the-art facility located adjacent to the historic church, which opened in 2013.
“I just left the church and a little bit after 6 p.m. we got word that the church was on fire, our historic sanctuary. This sanctuary has been around since 1890. It was the home for our church for a long time until we moved to our new worship center about 12 years ago,” Jeffress told Fox 4.
“This historic sanctuary was the site of many personal events, including my own. I was baptized there when I was six. I was ordained for the ministry when I was 21. It holds a lot of memories. But we thank God that nobody has been hurt.”
The pastor further revealed that vacation bible school had just wrapped up at the church, a program that hosts over 2,000 children. “They were all gone. So God has protected us through all of this,” Jeffress said.
He went on to thank God that nobody was injured in the blaze. “I’m grateful that the church is not bricks and mortar or wood, it’s people. And the people of God will endure. First, that is Dallas will endure. And we thank so many of our friends around the country who are praying for us right now.”
A cause of the blaze has not been revealed as of this report.
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