First Baptist Dallas received a $7 million donation from Hobby Lobby CEO David Green to help rebuild its historic sanctuary, which was destroyed in a fire last year, church officials announced.
The contribution significantly narrows the remaining funding gap and positions the downtown congregation to move forward with construction as early as 2026, according to church leadership.
The sanctuary, originally built more than a century ago, was destroyed in a July 2024 fire that investigators later determined originated in the building’s electrical system. Nearly 100 Dallas firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control.
Founded in 1890, First Baptist Dallas is one of the city’s oldest churches and has been working for more than a year to recover from the loss of the historic structure. While church leaders had already secured much of the funding needed for reconstruction, the project still faced a multimillion-dollar shortfall before Green’s donation.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, church leaders have also been navigating ongoing disputes with their insurance provider over delayed or incomplete payouts related to the fire damage. In July, Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress said the church had received only about one-third of the insurance funds needed to rebuild.
“We had the plans. We have the architect. We have the contractor,” Jeffress said at the time, adding that the church was waiting for the insurer to meet its contractual obligations.
In January, First Baptist Dallas announced plans to allocate approximately $27 million toward reconstruction and campus enhancements. The proposed rebuild aims to preserve key elements of the original sanctuary’s exterior while modernizing the interior to support future growth. Plans also include elevating the sanctuary to the second floor, allowing for a 500-person event space on the lower level.
With the new donation in place, church leaders say they expect to proceed with design and permitting in the coming months, marking a major step forward in restoring a central piece of the First Baptist Dallas campus.
