Randy Davenport said it was hard to watch the building of Abbie Baptist Church in Leighton burn down in the early morning hours of March 29.
“It was a heart-wrenching night,” he said. “I grew up in that church and moved away for a while before we came back, but especially for those who have been there for 50 or 60 years solid, it was really, really hard for them.”
The fire burned for about six hours, leaving behind only the cinderblock walls, and took nearly 10 agencies to extinguish. At this time, he hasn’t heard if authorities have determined the cause.
Davenport said the fire “felt like a blow.”
He said the church’s pastor, Thomas Thornton, is 92 and “has been such a blessing to the church” since coming in 2017. The church had grown in recent years from 20 to 35 and “things were going good for us,” Davenport said. The fire felt like slamming the brakes on progress.
But despite the tragedy, they plan to keep moving forward. He said Thornton is ready to lead them into a rebuild, and for the moment, they’re meeting in the old sanctuary of Leighton Baptist until they make more permanent plans.
“It hurts, but hopefully we’re coming out on the other side stronger than we were before,” Davenport said.
Thornton told WHNT News 19 that “it’ll take a while, but God will take care of it.”
Share with others: