A fire that started early Sunday morning burned through most of the two Garden City Baptist Church buildings.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the fire.
A representative from the Murrells Inlet Fire Department said the fire may have been caused by a lightning strike. No one was inside the building when the fire started.
The Murrells Inlet Fire Department responded to the fire around 2 a.m. on Sunday.
The entire crew was needed and they eventually put the fire out by 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Church services were moved to St. Michael Catholic Church Gymnasium in Garden City. Rev. Rich McLawhorn says services will remain there for "some time."
The congregation was in shock after hearing news of the fire.
"The church is the people. It's not a building. God is bigger than a building...we are not going to miss a beat in our worship and our service for our lord Jesus Christ." said Rev. McLawhorn.
Some of the church's 300 member congregation said they appreciate how St. Michael opened its doors to them.
Anita Lampley said, "They feel the loss as much as we do and recognize that anything they can do to help us and we said, you know, we would do the same thing for them."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement