The pastor of a Sunshine Coast church gutted by fire vows its community “will never be defeated” and “they will rebuild from the ashes” after Friday night’s devastating blaze.
Well-known in the Buderim community for its spectacular annual Christmas lights display and strong following, the Lifepoint Baptist Church on Wises Road in Buderim was significantly damaged by the fire.
The church has vowed to rebuild from the ashes, revealing the massive fire had engulfed its main auditorium.
On Sunday Phil Greenbury, Lifepointe’s senior pastor of 23 years, posted a video on the church’s Facebook page saying the regular Sunday church service was cancelled.
He said a new place was being organised to meet for church next week and would provide more information during the week.
“Unfortunately, if you haven’t heard, on Friday night the church burnt down,” Pastor Greenbury said.
“If you have a look behind me you will see the auditorium where we normally meet and we are in the process of moving forward from this.
“It’s been pretty traumatic for the whole church family – but we are not going to stay here because we are the church. The church isn’t in that building, the church is in us as we step out.”
In an earlier Facebook post, the church pleaded for the Sunshine Coast community to help it get back on its feet by donating to a GoFundMe fundraiser.
“Our Lifepointe family and community … we need your support,” the post said.
“We are devastated to say that late on the 20th (of) January our Lifepointe building was mostly destroyed in a tragic fire. Praise God no one was hurt!
“We are hoping our community will stand with us in support as we work through this difficult time. Thank you so much for any support you are able to give via our GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/a8e46b31.
“While we are heartbroken, we stand together today in the power of God and prayer to rebuild from the ashes to continue to impact our community with the love of Jesus.”
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said on Saturday morning that about eight fire crews attended the church on Wises Road about 11.20pm on Friday night.
About 60 per cent of the structure was involved.
The fire was brought under control by 12.55am on Saturday. It was fully extinguished by 4.30am.
The spokesman said there was “substantial damage to the rear of the premises”.
A fire investigator attended the scene on Saturday morning with police. A spokesperson said the cause of fire was unknown at this stage and investigations were ongoing.
Paramedics responded but no patients required assessment or transport.
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