About 5:30 a.m. on the first Sunday in November, Hampton pastor Paul Reid was studying in preparation for that day’s service when he was startled by a loud crash. Seeing an amber glow outside, he rushed to the window. When he pulled the blinds apart, Reid could not believe what he saw.
“The entire sanctuary of Sandy Run Baptist Church was engulfed in flames,” said Reid. “The sound I had heard moments earlier had been its roof collapsing.”
After calling the fire department, Reid ran to the church office in an attempt to save the computer, the church records and other important items, but “it was too hot to enter,” he recounted.
While a fireproof safe was recovered, “practically everything else was lost,” Reid said. Even the choir robes were damaged by smoke so badly they are no longer usable, he added.
Organized in 1834, Sandy Run is among the oldest congregations affiliated with Allendale-Hampton Baptist Association. The sanctuary that was destroyed originally had been a wooden structure erected in 1904. It was brick veneered in 1979.
While officials are still investigating the Nov. 4 blaze, a faulty heating system in the attic is suspected as the likely source, according to Reid. The fire was “pretty much out” by the time most members arrived, but earlier “it was quite a battle,” and the Hampton fire department was able to save the church social hall, which was built in 1998.
The church will continue holding services and other meetings temporarily in the social hall, but additional space is needed for Sunday school classes. Church officials are currently seeking portable units for the classes while the sanctuary is being rebuilt.
As smoke rose from the smoldering embers of the sanctuary, about 100 members gathered for the 11 a.m. worship on the bleachers of the nearby softball field. “We continued with the service, because that’s what we do. We worship God,” Reid explained. “That’s where we find our strength, and that’s what was needed most.”
Preaching from John 14:1-6, Reid told the story of a member who had found a penny and gave it to his grandmother to help build the new church. When she put the penny in her pastor’s hand, it was accompanied by a check for $2,000.
“People’s hearts and wallets just opened up that day,” Reid said. “I don’t know exactly how much was given, but it was far more than we normally get on a typical Sunday morning. We just experienced God’s blessing right there.”
Many members shared testimonies during the service of their deep family roots at Sandy Run, and how lives had been touch through its ministry and missions efforts.
“There is a deep sense of loss, and some are still grieving,” Reid said. “It’s home to me; it hurts,” acknowledged the pastor who has served Sandy Run for 12 years. “I can barely imagine how it might feel to some who were born and raised in this congregation – those who held baby dedications, were baptized, made recommitments, were married, or held funerals for their loved ones. Some have whole life histories connected with this place.
“But we’re going to pull together and make this a time of renewal that will carry us into the future. God’s been good to us in the past, and he’s not going to stop now,” he reminded members.
On Tuesday, $5,000 from disaster relief funds arrived from South Carolina Baptists to help with Sandy Run’s immediate needs. Cliff Satterwhite of the state convention’s disaster relief ministry delivered the check to Reid.
“In spite of our loss, we can anticipate seeing what God is going to do,” Reid encouraged Sandy Run members. “The building is burned, but the body of Christ is alive. And we will keep going by God’s grace.”