Historic first Baptist church devastated by fire, cause still unknown

By Erin Jones

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — The cause of Friday’s fire at First Baptist Dallas in downtown Dallas has not been determined.

Around 6 p.m. Friday, Pastor Robert Jeffress received a call that First Baptist Dallas was on fire.

“I couldn’t imagine such a thing, but anything I could imagine was not as horrific as what I saw when I got there,” he said.

More than 150 years of history went up in flames.

“This church was the site that presidents visited when they came to Dallas,” Jeffress said. “Woodrow Wilson, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush were all worshipers in that sanctuary.”

He said Vacation Bible School, with more than 2,000 students in attendance, had just let out a couple of hours prior.

“That’s a miraculous protection by God to spare not only those children, but any lost lives,” Jeffress said.

Fire investigators, as well as the ATF, are working to determine the cause. Jeffress, who publicly engages in politics, said nothing is being ruled out.

“I don’t believe my support for President Trump has anything to do with this fire,” he said. “I did receive a nice note from the President, who has spoken here before at our church. He offered his help to do anything he could.”

This Sunday’s service will be held at 11 a.m. at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, about a mile from the church.

“The truth is the church is not made out of wood and brick and mortar. It’s made up of the people in the worship center,” Jeffress said.

Church members grieved the loss Saturday — people like Ken and Linda Lott, who’ve been with the church for almost 25 years.

“I sing in the choir and so many precious times that we have had,” Linda said. “We’ve seen people walk down the aisles, wonderful weddings, just so many sentimental things.”

“It was just the most wonderful place to come and worship and make friends and have a church family,” Penny Tyson said. “I really liked it.”

Jeffress said the church is working with the City of Dallas to try and preserve as much of the building as possible.

“We’re not going to let those flames have the final say,” he said.

He’ll have an update on future plans at Sunday’s service, which will also be streamed online.

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