The Baptist church fires may have faded a bit from the forefront of national news, but the phones at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are still ringing.
“With 80 ATF people working, it is bigger than the Eric Rudolph case,” said David Hyche, resident agent in charge who is supervising the church fire investigation for the Birmingham ATF.
Another arson — Beaverton Free Will Baptist Church in Lamar County — brought the total up to 10 torched rural Alabama churches Feb. 11.
But as ATF blows past the mark of 500 leads on the case, there’s still silence from the arsonists as of press time. And the ashes of the burned churches still sit — for the most part — as untouched as the day the blazes happened.
“Most of the churches haven’t even cleared the debris yet,” said Steve Patrick, director of missions for Bibb Baptist Association. Four of the first five church buildings that burned were Bibb Association churches.
“We’ve had a lot of offers for volunteer work from all over, but it’s just too early for that. We’re appreciative and we’re blessed,” Patrick said, noting that the churches were moving forward with the financial assistance of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).
The two burned down churches in Bibb Association — Ashby Baptist in Brierfield and Rehobeth Baptist in Randolph — are busy furnishing, hooking up water and electricity and building steps for the mobile chapels on loan from the State Board.
The State Board is continuing its efforts to assist the congregations victimized by the arsonists, said Rick Lance, SBOM executive director, adding that “we pray the causes of all 10 fires this month will be quickly discovered and anyone responsible apprehended.”
The Christian Coalition of Alabama recently added $10,000 to the reward money for information leading to the arrest of those responsible, bringing the total up to $115,000 in rewards from several different organizations, according to The Associated Press.
The Alabama Baptist has also reached out to its subscribing churches — Rehobeth and Ashby — by setting the church members up with complimentary subscriptions.
Hyche said this case has been an emotional one for investigators seeing the damage and subsequent outpouring of help.
“It is pretty moving,” said Hyche, a member of North Shelby Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Shelby Baptist Association.
He added that “people from all religious backgrounds are helping out.”
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