First Baptist Dallas holds 1st Sunday service since fire destroyed historic chapel

In the aftermath of a large fire that destroyed and charred its historic sanctuary Friday, First Baptist Dallas’ members gathered for Sunday service at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

They worshipped, prayed and sang together, and church leadership pledged to rebuild the more than 130-year-old secondary chapel.

Shortly before 11 a.m., a line of people in their Sunday best filed through downtown crosswalks, past smiling greeters and into the main arena at the massive convention center. The crowd was a cross section of generations: older gentlemen carrying canes and wearing suits; kids squirming on their parents’ shoulders in jeans and cowboy boots.

The mood inside the convention center was cheerful as the service began about 11:20 a.m.

“We are going to have a great service today,” Robert Jeffress, the church’s senior pastor, said.

He was met with cheers and one man raised his fist.

Jeffress encouraged people to “fellowship” for the first few minutes, and the arena hummed with gentle laughter and conversation. There was no child care or children’s ministry during the service, so mothers held their babies on their hips, and kids danced in their seats and wandered around the auditorium.

Sunday’s service came two days after Dallas Fire-Rescue battled the fire that caused the historic church’s secondary chapel — which served as a place of worship for over a century until the church opened a new facility in 2013 — to “largely” collapse, an official said.

The worship team sang Bethel Music’s “Goodness of God,” and a smattering of people raised their hands and closed their eyes. The band swelled to a crescendo as they sang pledges of unwavering trust in God: “And all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good.”

The lyrics weren’t displayed on the screens at the front of the auditorium, but the crowd seemed to know all the words.

Worship leader Joe Hardin greeted the congregation.

“Remember that story of Jacob in the desert? He spent the night out under the stars, sleeping on a rock and had this epic dream. He named that place the house of God,” Hardin said. “Because we know that the house of God is wherever God manifests his presence. We’re praying he manifests his presence here today among us. Amen.”

Robert Reeves, executive director of operations, said members filled up parking lots around the convention center causing late-comers to struggle finding a spot. Inside the auditorium, the floor was full of people in folding chairs and others were scattered throughout the bleachers.

Worship ended with the crowd favorite “How Great is Our God,” which echoed from every corner of the room.

Jeffress took the stage again and cited a recent post on X from Clint Pressley, who was just elected the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention, that called First Baptist Dallas the “Notre Dame” of the SBC.

”As I stood there Friday and watched the flames engulf our church, I can’t explain to you the emotion I felt,” Jeffress said. “This last Friday night, it looked like the gates of hell were prevailing.”

Jeffress pledged to rebuild the church’s secondary sanctuary, located at 1717 San Jacinto St.

“We cannot allow Satan to have the last word,” he said. “If we allow that thing to remain in ruins, it will look to the whole world like we’ve been defeated.”

Next, Ben Lovvorn, the executive pastor, gave a sermon from Colossians 1:9-14.

His voice broke as he described growing up, meeting his wife and getting married in the church’s old sanctuary. But despite their loss, he urged the congregation to be Christlike examples of perseverance and “joyful gratitude.”

“Today, the world is watching,” Lovvorn said. “Now is the time you show the world what you’re made of.”

After service, Emily DeBoard, whose family has attended First Baptist Dallas for generations, said the building that burned down Friday had been her “second home.”

”The happiest and saddest moments in the life of my family have happened in that sanctuary,” she said.

Her parents were married there, and after her father died when she was 7 years old, DeBoard said, his funeral was also held in the old chapel. DeBoard loved the familiar smell of the building and its stained glass, which reminds her of her grandmother, who attended the church until her death at 97. Her grandmother had particularly loved one of the stained glass pieces depicting a lamb and had kept a photo of it in her Bible for years, DeBoard said.

Ruthe Turner served as the director of First Baptist Dallas’ library, housed in the old sanctuary’s basement, for over 20 years. She’s grateful that for the past several years, her husband led a team that digitized the library’s important documents. Still, she’ll particularly miss the children’s books long housed in the building.

“We offered the unapologetically best books and materials — value-based, Christian-based — and we had a very active following with the children in the church,” Turner said.

Photos: First Baptist Dallas church fire

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Aftermath of the fire

Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Robert Borse said in a statement Saturday the historic building was inaccessible. Church officials installed fencing around it Saturday afternoon and must provide 24-hour security and obtain a structural engineering assessment within 24 hours, he said. If the historic church is unstable, it’ll have to come down. The fire department will remain nearby until the structural integrity is assured or the building is demolished.

Jeffress said the church is working with the city to “preserve as much of the structure as we can.” He said that over the next 24 to 48 hours, the church is hoping to have plans approved by the city that would allow it to keep the structure in place.

But there is a focus on ensuring safety first, he said.

“There’s certainly a lot of sorrow and reminiscing about a building, having been inside it so many spiritual milestones for so many people,” he said.

There’s also an anticipation, Jeffress said. He believes God causes everything to work together for good for those “called according to his purpose,” which includes terrible events like the church fire.

“He doesn’t will those things but he’s able to take those horrible things and use them for our good and his glory,” he said.

Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.