Fort Graham Baptist Church sanctuary lost in ATV-related fire

Fire destroys North Texas church days before Easter

After fire destroyed their sanctuary, a North Texas congregation near Whitney still found a way to gather for Easter.

HILL COUNTY, Texas - FOX 4 spoke to the pastor and members of the congregation about how they’re celebrating through the ashes and finding the love of community after their church burned down days before Easter Sunday.

Fire destroys Fort Graham Baptist Church

What we know:

On Easter Sunday, Fort Graham Baptist Church in Hill County near Whitney is uniting without their church after losing its sanctuary to a fire that started on Tuesday evening. 

Pastor Brian Hill watched as his church burned.

"And I came and started trying to extinguish the fire, but it wasn't working," Hill said. "I noticed the side by side had a little bit of a fire on it.  I went to try to run and get some help and grab the fire extinguisher."

Investigators believe the fire started with an ATV parked next to the building. Within minutes, it spread to the church. 

"The fire would shrink, and then it would just pop back up," said Hill. "I heard the glass break in the window, and all I could think of was save the church."

But nothing could be done, there was nothing left to save.

Firefighters had to battle the flames from outside as parts of the building collapsed. 

Congregation holds Easter service despite loss

What they're saying:

For Ronald Stout, the church is a place he’s known for a lifetime.

"I got married here, baptized here, my brothers, my sisters," he said.

But just days later, on Easter Sunday, the focus isn’t on what’s been lost. 

"It's all bricks and mortar. I'm just worried about people," said Stout. 

With the sanctuary gone, the congregation moved the Easter service to another building – the fellowship hall that was somehow left untouched. 

"And it's a miracle that we had zero smoke damage or heat damage to this building at all," said Hill.

They didn’t do it alone. Neighboring churches stepped in bringing sound equipment, instruments, everything needed to hold the service.

Investigation into church fire cause underway

What's next:

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but officials said they don’t believe it was done on purpose.