Buford church weighs future following massive fire on Thanksgiving

Bystanders screamed and cried as they witnessed First Pentecostal Church of Buford’s steeple fall amid a raging fire that began on Thanksgiving, said Pastor Jordan Copeland. Built before World War II, the beloved house of worship stood for generations and previously served as the home of a Baptist church. Stored inside its rooms were decades of sermons and other important church records.

Copeland, who was among those who witnessed the devastating blaze, is now considering how his church can persevere. His late father spent more than 20 years as a traveling evangelist before settling in Buford and starting their congregation in 1993.

Sporting a baseball cap declaring “One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism. One God,” Copeland found a reason to be thankful the day after Thanksgiving. He said he felt blessed the building was empty as the fire spread. Last week, his church decided against holding a service on Thanksgiving evening. If had held such an event, he said, there might have been as many as 40 people still in the building when the fire began.

No injuries were reported, but the damage is extensive. Much of the church appears gutted.

“It’s a hard thing,” Copeland said as he watched firefighters working at the scene Friday morning, “but we’re not falling apart.”

Credit: Ben Hendren for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Hendren for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though officials said they do not suspect criminal activity.

The church told firefighters that two of its members saw smoke pouring out of the three-story building on East Moreno Street, tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers and called 911, officials said.

Fire crews arrived at the church shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday and observed smoke coming from the top of its sanctuary, Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Ryan McGiboney said. Searching for the source of the smoke, they found a fire in the attic.

For four hours, they battled massive flames shooting through the roof. Portions of the church began to collapse. Meanwhile, additional crews were dispatched to protect surrounding property. Finally, the fire was brought under control by 2:30 a.m., McGiboney said.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Built in 1932, the property previously served as the home of First Baptist Church of Buford and was assessed by the county at $2.8 million, property records show. It stored many sermons, bibles and newspaper clippings collected by Copeland’s late father, Timothy Lee Copeland.

“Those things are irreplaceable,” said Timothy Lee Copeland’s widow, Kathy.

Timothy Lee Copeland died last year at 69 after serving as the First Pentecostal Church’s pastor for 26 years. His congregation began with 17 people in a building just a few blocks away, Kathy Copeland said. He had long wanted to preach at the East Moreno Street location. Finally, in 1998, the congregation acquired the building, she said, adding that First Pentecostal Church has drawn as many as 550 worshippers on Sundays. It also highlighted a rapidly growing number of Hispanic parishioners and the Spanish language service it held on Saturdays.

“He poured his heart into this,” she said of her husband. “He was an awesome man.”

Jordan Copeland, who took over from his father about four years ago, said he didn’t know yet whether his church would rebuild or find a new location. But there was hope.

Two nearby pastors, he said, had already offered their spaces for this Sunday’s service.