Lightning caused Bryant church fire

Bryant fire investigators tell FOX16 lightning caused a fire that burned the TNT building belonging to Family Church in Bryant Saturday night.

The senior pastor says the fire caused $1.5 million in damage when it burned down the youth group building Saturday. The pastor is looking to rebuild within the next year.

“Any typical Wednesday night, have 100-150 teenagers in there. Real blessed it was a Saturday night. Nobody was here,” says Senior Pastor Perry Black.

Monday, Black showed FOX16 the burned rubble where the Family Church teen center stood until lightning started Saturday night’s fire. Word of the fire spread quickly to the teens through social media.

”Most of them, because they’ve grown up in the church where we believe God turns tragedy into triumph, have immediately responded, praying immediately and are already looking forward dot a new youth center. So, I think, actually, the excitement’s beginning to set in now,” says Black. 

Tuesday, crews will come out to rip down one of the remaining walls so it does not fall on anyone and hurt them as they go back inside to salvage some of the bibles that survived the fire.

“Charred ruins, but we’ll rise up out of the ashes,” says Black.

Pastor Black says the place where the building was will become a new parking lot, and the new building will go up next to the family life center.