FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH DALLAS BUILDING DESTROYED! WILL POSSIBLY BE DEMOLISHED — WORLD-FAMOUS EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM WAS A MEMBER OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH DALLAS FOR 55 YEARS
DANIEL WHYTE III, PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL LIGHT SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL SAYS, SINCERELY PRAY FOR DR. ROBERT JEFFRESS AND THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH DALLAS FAMILY, FOR THE BURNING DOWN OF THE OLD SANCTUARY IS VERY DEVASTATING IN MANY WAYS. IN FACT, IT COULD BE SAID THAT THE BURNING DOWN OF THE OLD CHURCH BUILDING IS MORE PAINFUL THAN IF THE BEAUTIFUL NEW CHURCH BUILDING BURNED DOWN. THERE WAS A LOT OF HISTORY THAT WENT UP IN FLAMES, BOTH GOOD AND BAD, BUT GOOD AND BAD HISTORY IS STILL HISTORY, ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS CHANGE IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION. DR. JEFFRESS AND FIRST BAPTIST DALLAS CAN REBUILD THE BUILDING AGAIN, BUT THEY CAN NOT REBUILD THE MEMORIES. AS YOU CAN TELL BY DR. JEFFRESS’ FACE, THIS IS LIKE THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE.
DALLAS — Days after a fire all but destroyed First Baptist Dallas‘ historic downtown sanctuary, Robert Jeffress the church’s senior pastor preached a triumphant sermon.
“This last Friday night, it looked like the gates of hell were prevailing, that Satan was going to win,” Jeffress told the congregation. “That was Friday night, but ladies and gentlemen, it is Sunday morning, it is a day of resurrection, it’s not a day of death, and I am pledging to you we are going to rebuild that sanctuary.”
Dallas Fire Rescue responded to a fourth alarm fire around 6 p.m. Friday at the First Baptist Dallas Church at 1707 San Jacinto St. At least 100 firefighters were on scene for more than three hours, officials said.
The structure involved in the fire was a secondary chapel, officials confirmed. It most recently hosted the church’s Vacation Bible School, which concluded Friday. It’s also used for funerals, weddings, and auxiliary events that don’t require the main sanctuary.
The church held its first Sunday service since the fire at 11 a.m. in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. There, Jeffress also announced the church’s intention to rebuild the sanctuary, although it might not be a replica of the original structure, he told congregants.
“We are going to rebuild it as a standing symbol of the truth, the unchangeableness, the endurance of the word of God,” Jeffress said. “What I am saying to you is we are going to remember this historic place of worship and do everything we can to honor it.”
No one was injured in the fire, officials said. Dallas Fire Rescue said Friday they believe the blaze started in the basement. Deacons told WFAA they fear the church’s library, beneath the historic sanctuary, has been lost. It held the majority of the Church’s records, they said.
People in and outside of the church have reached out asking how to support the church financially as they prepare to rebuild the sanctuary, Jeffress said Sunday. However, the insurance company will fund the rebuilding of the sanctuary, he added.
Jeffress instead called on members of the congregation to recommit themselves to the mission of the church.
“Let’s have the world see and say, ‘what happened that Friday night was the best thing that ever happened to First Baptist Dallas because it caused them to double down on their mission and to grow like never before,'” Jeffress said.
IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: HEAVEN OR HELL? IF YOU’RE NOT SURE, “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED” FOR JESUS CHRIST SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS EVER SPOKEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WHEN HE SAID, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
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