On Friday evening, a significant fire engulfed First Baptist Dallas in Texas, a prominent church in the city that was started in 1868. First Baptist Dallas boasts a massive congregation of approximately 16,000 members and is an influential organization in the broader Southern Baptist community. Despite the major setback from the devastating fire, the church’s pastor, Robert Jeffress, maintained that they would persevere.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire, to which the church praised God. First Baptist Dallas posted on its Facebook page, “We continue to praise God for His hand of protection on our church. We are grateful that no one was injured today and are thankful for the first responders who helped contain the fire to our Historic Sanctuary. They continue working but the primary fire has been extinguished. One way or another, we intend to meet for church this Sunday. More details to follow. We hope to see you there.”
Reports indicate that fire and rescue crews initially responded to a call about a fire in the area just after 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening. However, a second alarm was requested around 6:20 p.m. and the fire department was still on the scene on Saturday morning. A cause for the fire has not yet been determined.
First Dallas Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffries took to X where he requested prayers as the church figures out how to navigate the situation. “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,” he wrote. “‘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.’ – Romans 8:28.”
Jeffress further stated, “It holds a lot of memories. We thank God nobody was hurt. … I’m grateful that the church is not brick and mortar, its people. The people of God will endure. First Baptist Dallas will endure. We thank so many of our friends around the country who are praying for us right now.”
The disastrous fire has drawn a variety of responses from various leaders in Christian culture. “While our hearts are broken that we will never sit on these pews or stand in that pulpit of the historic sanctuary again at FBC Dallas we give thanks to God for the multiplied scores of thousands since 1891 who walked these aisles to give their hearts to the Lord Jesus,” O.S. Hawkins, chancellor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and president emeritus at GuideStone, posted on X.
Denny Burk, the director of the Center for Gospel and Culture at Boyce College of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, wrote, “It was where we worshipped weekly when we were members. It had no sprinkler system and (I suspect) has long been a tinderbox,” he wrote. “The church had back-to-back historic pastorates in the twentieth century. Two pastors who each ministered for 50 years. Two pastors in a hundred years! George W. Truett followed by W.A. Criswell. Both of them preached in that building. Both of them towering figures in the SBC.”
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