A Little Rock pastor needs your help finding a new home for his congregation. He also knows how the building he rents
caught fire Friday forcing his prayer group out into the cold. The pastor and his wife need have until Friday to get everything out of the church and into storage because the building is condemned.
"One of the member's little daughters ran this way. He came behind her, and he looked up, and he saw smoke coming from this light fixture. He called me. I came back. I saw that smoke was coming from the outside of the building. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. At that time, my wife hollered, get your coats on, get out of the building," said Pastor Dwight Stegall, Sr.
Everyone got out okay, and firefighters had the flames out within minutes, but they tore down more of the ceiling checking for hot spots.
"We can't move back in here unless we put the money into it, and the owner's not willing to do that, so we have to move elsewhere," he said.
Now, they're holding church services in a very unlikely place, the meeting room of a library. "It was kind of funny because we're used to a church setting. But, we got in here, put up our Bible pulpit area, the choir sang, the spirit of God came in, and it's not the building, it's the people," said Stegall. "No matter where we go, we'll be together. That's what's all that's important to them, so we're not discouraged at all."
Stegall wanted to get the building up to code to make it safe even though he's just renting. Money ran out, and he wasn't able to get to the half where the fire started. So, he's just cutting his losses, looking for a new building. He's looking to either rent or buy if the price is right. He needs room for about 100 people.
If you'd like to help, call Pastor Stegall at (501) 519-2552.
