BRANDON, Fla. — BRANDON, Fla. – The pastor of a Brandon church says Easter service will go on as planned despite a massive fire Thursday night that destroyed the fellowship hall next to the sanctuary.
“It's not a pleasant sight, of course, but I'm just choosing to look on the bright side and know that God always has a good plan,” said Kevin Wells, pastor of the New Testament Church on Dew Bloom Road.
No one was hurt in the fire that started sometime after 9 p.m. Still, the damage was hard for long-time members to see.
"It just breaks my heart, because I've seen a lot of people give their life to the Lord,” said Martha Sheffield, who’s been a member for decades. “I was like 18, and I wasn't living a good life. And people here showed me you could live a good life and find Jesus in your heart and change your life."
Sheffield and her friend Sharri Nava looked on as investigators went through the debris on Friday. She and Nava said they worked to help build the fellowship hall, which was the original church building.
"We used our quarter money, our Coke and our candy bar money to build this church," Nava said. "A cinder block cost 25 cents, and that's how we built this church. We were just 16, 17, 18 years old."
Church leaders said the fire didn't appear suspicious, but state arson investigators were at the scene to be sure. They say it's protocol whenever there's a church fire.
"We have a lot of memories in the building, but we know that God's word says that we are the temple. So we will continue to move on, we will continue to build,” Nava said. "Today is the death of Christ, and then Sunday is the resurrection. So, today, we have a death, so to speak. It's ashes, but we believe that we will resurrect again. We will come back stronger, and bigger and there will be beauty out of the ashes."
Pastor Wells said the church is in contact with its insurance company to figure out a plan to rebuild.
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