Fire destroyed facilities at Oberlin Baptist Church in Oberlin the night of June 20 – and a man has been charged with setting the blaze.
Fire destroyed facilities at Oberlin Baptist Church
in Oberlin the night of June 20 – and a man has been charged with
setting the blaze.
The 28-year-old man was seen running from the scene
after he reportedly stole objects from the church and set the fire to
erase all evidence of his crime.
The late Sunday night blaze completely destroyed a
pair of church facilities and heavily damaged the sanctuary. It is
expected to be classified as a total loss, pastor Shane Nugent said.
Nugent said he received a call about the fire on
Father’s Day night after 11 p.m. Other church members also had been
alerted and gathered at the scene.
Even as the fire burned, the church members gathered in an impromptu prayer session across the street.
“I told them as we prayed, ‘Our church buildings are gone, but the church is still here,’” Nugent recounts.
He said his trust remains in God. “God is in
control,” Nugent said. “I know he has something in mind for us. We just
have to pray and seek his will.”
Early last week, Nugent was uncertain where the
church would conduct services while its facilities are rebuilt.
However, he said several area churches had offered use of their
buildings in the interim period.
LBC Executive Director David Hankins worshiped with
the church their first Sunday under a tent. Hankins assured the
congregation of “the best the convention has to offer” and called upon
Baptists throughout the state to pray for the congregation.