COLUMBUS, Ohio — A fire damaged the Williams Road Free Will Baptist Church in south Columbus last Sunday.
But Pastor Russell Street sees setbacks as lessons.
"The building might've burned, but God's people are still standing,” said Pastor Street.
Pastor Street said the fire displaced the services. They’re trying to sort through the damages.
Through this uncertainty, he and his congregation are holding onto faith.
"It’s just a bump in the road, and you know what? We'll get through this,” he said during Sunday’s sermon.
If you asked Pastor Street a week ago what's next, it was still up in the air.
"I knew we would find someplace to meet -- how would we be able to meet and where we would be able to meet, I was not sure of,” he said. "When the church caught on fire, everyone in the neighborhood knew that the church was on fire.”
As soon as the word got out, Pastor Street said numerous people within the community, even other churches, reached out to help.
Pastor Shawn Beauchamp of Canaan Land Church in Grove City had an empty sanctuary on the campus that they could use.
"Well, that's what God's called us to do. Not only to help the afflicted, if they have a need, then we want to if we can facilitate that need,” said Beauchamp.
Pastor Beauchamp's door is open for however long Pastor Street needs.
At the end of the day, the church isn't the building.
"It's about the people. That is the church,” said Pastor Street.
Church members are still sorting through how they will move forward with the food pantry.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but the Columbus Division of Fire said it is not suspicious in nature.