Firefighters arrived at First Baptist Dallas, but this time, they were there to celebrate.
Fire trucks responded to the church nearly a year ago when flames engulfed its 133-year-old sanctuary. On Sunday, the church honored responders as it celebrated how “God brought beauty from ashes.”
“If you had been there like I was – and some of you were that night – and watched in horror as not only our historic sanctuary was consumed, but those flames were within feet of this new worship center,” said Pastor Robert Jeffress in a service attended by The Dallas Express.
Volunteers offered cookies in the lobby to mark the occasion, and Jeffress paused the service to thank Dallas firefighters. He said they were “successful” in preserving the church from further damage.
“For that, we’ll be eternally indebted,” he said. “Just imagine what our lives would be like if this worship center had been lost. A year later, we wouldn’t have a church.”
Senior Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn presented a commemorative axe to Dallas Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Gill Peña. According to Jeffress, Peña has family ties to the church’s historic sanctuary.
“He was the one guiding the efforts that night of the fire,” Jeffress said. “He loves our church, and we are indebted to him for what he has done.”
He read from an inscribed plaque attached to the axe, thanking firefighters for their “heroic efforts to fight the fire.”
“Your swift and skillful response ensured no loss of life and limited the damage to our campus. You have been instrumental in helping us return to the ministry God has called us to pursue in the city of Dallas since 1868,” the plaque reads. “We are forever grateful for your service.”
Flames broke out in the church’s historic, red brick sanctuary on July 19, 2024, soon after a day of Vacation Bible School, when the church was hosting 2,000 children and volunteers. Firefighters battled flames for three hours.
My wife and I were members of First Baptist Dallas before moving to Louisville and are stunned by this news.
Dr. Jeffress is right about the church not being bricks and mortar, but this is nevertheless a grievous loss. You can see it on his face, and he is not alone. So much… pic.twitter.com/10Lw92QsRG
— Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) July 20, 2024
Ultimately, portions of the building’s walls and steeple were all that remained, plus the historic pulpit used by Southern Baptist preachers George Truett and W.A. Criswell.
The church stands for biblical Christian values on marriage and culture, making Jeffress a target for death threats. Investigators officially “ruled out arson,” but said the fire’s cause would “remain undetermined.”
“Either it would mark the beginning of the end for us,” the church’s website reads. “Or, by God’s grace, it could come to be remembered as the beginning of our greatest era of our church.”
The church has unveiled plans to rebuild its sanctuary, incorporating what remains of the original building, to further expand its missions. As The Dallas Express previously reported, this is part of “Mission 1:8: One Desire,” which will send $68 million to church ministry and $27 million to the campus.
However, one year after the fire, Jeffress stated that the church had received only one-third of the insurance money needed to rebuild, as reported by The Dallas Express.
“We had the plans,” Jeffress said in a press conference, according to WFAA. “We have the architect. We have the contractor. But what we need is for our insurance company, Travelers Insurance, to live up to their responsibilities, which they are not doing right now.”
Still, during Sunday’s service on July 13, Jeffress thanked Christians in Dallas and across the country for the prayers and support.