Fort Johnson Baptist Church reopens after sanctuary burned down in 2021

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD)- On September 9, 2021, lightning hit the steeple at Fort Johnson Baptist Church.

The steeple caught on fire and collapsed into the building.

“I got a phone call at 8:00 am saying there was smoke coming out of the steeple, then flames coming out of the steeple, and by the time I got here the steeple was inside the sanctuary,” Pastor of Fort Johnson, Marty Middleton said.

Middleton had recently become the senior pastor at Fort Johnson when the fire happened, and walked with the church through the rebuilding process.

“They’ve had to gut the building because of asbestos and basically get a whole reno which is a silver lining in this dark cloud,” Middleton said.

Finally on Sunday, after 2 and a half years of renovations, the church reopened in their brand-new facility.

“To see the heartbreak for people on that first day for people who had been married here, who had raised their families here, how devastating, to now come to a day like today and see the excitement,” Middleton said.

During Sunday morning’s service, there wasn’t an empty seat in the room.

Middleton said it felt like a family reunion.

“Folks who maybe they’ve gone to another church and they come back because this is a special place for them, and then a lot of folks who maybe moved on. To be able to come back and gather again and the excitement about one another. It’s just really, I think people are just excited to see family again,” Middleton said.

Fort Johnson Baptist Church’s Sunday services start at 10:30 am each week.