Next steps for Morningstar Baptist Church after fire rips through

Flames and smoke shot out of Morningstar Baptist Church Friday afternoon. But through the charred wood and ashes, they were still able to have church Sunday.

How does one pastor a church after that church has been burnt? What do you tell your congregation?

Dwight Williams is the pastor now put into this difficult situation. “God allows some things to happen and some things God just lets happen, and often we don’t understand exactly why until we have the hindsight,” Williams said.

Williams is the interim pastor at Morningstar Baptist Church. Friday, a fire consumed the roof and charred everything else inside the church. It’s been here for 60 years.

The pastor knew his people needed to gather together Sunday.

“We have ladies in the church whose husbands helped build the building, and their husbands have passed,” he said. “When they were in the building, they felt a connection to their husbands, and you have to honor that.”

Pastor Williams also had something else to honor, not just the building but the people.

He’s honored hope. He had to give hope to his congregation.

“If we just sat there and looked defeated, they’d be defeated. But we’ve prepared everything. God has his ways, and they’ve put us in this position to walk through this with Him,” Williams said.

“I’m confident this has occurred, which looks like a tragedy right now, but we’re going to be blessed by this,” he said.

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