Church members continue to mourn a massive fire in the historic First Baptist Dallas sanctuary

DALLAS – Heartbreak and grief continue for a Dallas church congregation after a massive fire destroyed their historic sanctuary.

The sight of devastation and the smell of smoke linger outside First Baptist Dallas a day after a four-alarm fire tore through the original sanctuary. Dallas Fire-Rescue continues to monitor hot spots Saturday.

The sounds of fire engines and the sight of stunned onlookers filled the heart of downtown Dallas Saturday morning. Executive Pastor Dr. Ben Lovvorn said the building appears to be a total loss.

“It’s hard to see,” Lovvorn said.

Church members come to terms with the surreal images of the charred shell that holds so many memories.

“My family has been in this church for five generations for over a hundred years. I was raised in the sanctuary, I trusted Christ in that room, I got engaged, I got married there, so it’s a special place” , Lovvorn said with tears in his eyes. .

“Just a shame, it’s really a pain to lose the place of the memories, the good times we had and the reverence we had there,” said Sari McCoy.

McCoy has been coming to church since he was a child. The sanctuary was built in 1890 and the church used it for worship until it moved to the new building in 2013.

“Really, what a loss, but at the same time, I have mixed emotions that no one was hurt and the church is still intact because the church is the people,” McCoy said.

Dallas Fire Rescue believes the fire started in the basement of the sanctuary around 6:00 p.m. Friday. The ATF is assisting in the investigation and trying to figure out how the fire started.

“We’re moving forward and God has his hand in everything,” McCoy said.

The scorched walls overflow with more than a century of memories that the congregation plans to build on as they lean on each other for support.

First Baptist Dallas will hold a service Sunday at 11 a.m. It will be held in the main arena of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Free parking is available. Child care will not be provided. The service will be streamed live at icampus.firstcampus.org.

“We encourage everyone to join us and come worship with us,” Lovvorn said.

Church leaders are due to provide a structural engineering report on Sunday to determine if the building should be demolished.