Church members praise the Lord hours after their building burns down

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — Part of a Humboldt church was destroyed after firefighters say it went up in flames late Saturday night, but that didn’t stop members from praising the Lord the next morning.

Hope in the ashes — that’s what’s keeping members of St. James Baptist going, just hours after part of their church burned down.

“It’s their spirit, and they’re not going to let a tragic night like this take away from that,” Humboldt Mayor Marvin Sikes said.

Instead of in their usual chapel, Sunday’s service was held in the senior center down the street.

It was a morning of hand clapping and songs of praise, but pastor Rev. James Baltimore says it was a much different scene the night before.

“It’s a loss, and it almost brings tears to your eyes to think that this could happen,” Baltimore said.

Humboldt fire chief Chester Ownes says the call went out just after 9 p.m. Saturday.

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze, that took nearly four hours to put out.

“When you have a structure that’s fully engulfed, it takes a lot of water and a lot of manpower,” Owens said.

But even with help from volunteers, firefighters say the back half of the building is a total loss.

Shards of glass and debris might be all that’s left of the bark part of the building, but members say it will take more than a fire for their spirit to be broken.

“We just had to leave it in God’s hands, we know God will fix it for us,” Baltimore said.

As church service goes on in their temporary home, pastor Baltimore says their prayers are already being answered.

“God has a plan for us,” he said. “We don’t know what it is, but it will be better than the old one.”

Humboldt fire say there were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.