An Alabama church building burned after a fatal car crash

RIVERSIDE, Ala. – Riverside Baptist Church was destroyed by fire early Thursday morning (June 20) after it was hit by a car that apparently missed a sharp curve outside the church.

The driver, a man, was killed but has not yet been identified by authorities.

The fire left only the brick standing at Riverside Baptist. The night before, Pastor Ken Maddox had taught a Wednesday night Bible study lesson called “Where Is Your Church?” in which he talked about how the church is not brick and mortar; it’s the people.

The congregation plans to meet for worship temporarily in the storm shelter behind Riverside City Hall while it makes plans for the future.

“We are praying for the Riverside Church family as they deal with this sad situation,” said Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “I talked to Ken and a church member. The State Board of Missions will do all we can to help the church family during this critical time. We are grateful to the Alabama Baptist family for making this possible.”

Offering love and encouragement

Mark Wakefield, Alabama Baptist disaster relief strategist, said as he visited the pastor and other church members at the scene, they told him they were sad their building was a total loss, but that they are grateful to be able to gather again this Sunday, just as they always have.

“When we were there, the grandparents of the young man who was driving the car also came, so Ken was trying to spend some time with them and love with them,” he said.

Wakefield delivered a check to the church on behalf of Alabama Baptists and said he was grateful to be able to check on Maddox and the rest of the congregation.

“There aren’t many things like sitting in the dark and seeing those flames rip through everything; it’s a pretty tough feeling for people,” he said. “I just wanted to let them know that the rest of their Alabama Baptist family is praying for them.”

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This article originally appeared in The Alabama Baptist.

About the author

• Grace Thornton/The Alabama Baptist