The site of the deadliest church shooting in the nation no longer stands, as First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, moved forward Aug. 12 with a 2021 decision to demolish its former sanctuary.
Church members voted 69-35 in August 2021 to demolish the sanctuary after a gunman killed 25 there in November 2017, including a pregnant woman, and injured 20 others before killing himself.
Abner Neill, who became lead pastor of the congregation in late 2023, has helped it move forward in ministry to the unincorporated town of fewer than 1,000 people, discussing with church members and leaders how to proceed with demolishing the building. Former pastor Frank Pomeroy, who had led the church for 20 years and lost a daughter in the massacre, retired in 2022.
The building had served as a temporary memorial and there had not been an urgency to demolish it, Neill said.
Since 2019, the congregation has worshiped in a new facility funded by the North American Mission Board with gifts made through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program and other donations.