VAN BUREN (KFSM) - A Van Buren church was destroyed in an early morning fire Monday (Nov. 10).
Neighbors called 911 after seeing smoke billowing out of the Current Church on South 4th Street around 2:15 a.m.
Crews arrived on scene and battled the flames for about two hours before giving the all-clear.
Firefighters said the fire started in the church's storage shed and then spread to the main sanctuary and chapel. "It may possibly have been a small space heater that was inside the building," said Stanley Clark with the Van Buren Fire Deptment.
Pastor Kevin Hardcastle watched as the church burned.
"There's a lot of smoke damage," Hardcastle said. "There's also a lot, a lot, a lot of water damage. It looks really bad on the inside."
He said even though the building was destroyed his congregation will come out stronger from the fire.
"It's going to be a challenge, but the Bible tells us to rejoice in all things and we're just going to try to stay on the positive side of things," Hardcastle said. "We love our church but it's just a building. We're just thankful no one was hurt."
Church officials said they will start having services again this Sunday at Mt. Olive Methodist in Van Buren. Services are Friday 7 p.m. and Sunday 11:15 a.m.
Church officials said they have an account set up to help with rebuilding funds. The account is at Arvest Bank under the account name Current Church Disaster Fund.
