TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — On Sunday, Sept. 8, Bethlehem Baptist Church celebrated the retirement of their debt, nine years after a lightning strike fire destroyed their church building. 

As the church gathered to commemorate this significant achievement, the service highlighted not only their financial milestone but also their commitment to rebuilding their church building to serve their community. The service was a reminder of the congregation’s trust in the Lord and collective effort, turning a chapter of adversity into a story of victory. 

Dean Chambers, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist, said, “The Lord really preserved us through it all.”

From ashes…

During a thunderstorm on July 18, 2015, lightning struck the church steeple. Flames ignited immediately and quickly consumed the entire structure save the fellowship hall where a firewall prevented further damage. 

The church met at Bethlehem Elementary School until December 2015 while they worked to make the fellowship hall occupiable again and continued conversations with insurance agents to ensure they received the correct settlement for their loss. The congregation banded together, scouring old photos of weddings, funerals, birthday parties, Sunday school socials, Vacation Bible Schools or any other events that would help identify items in the church before the fire so they could more accurately report the loss. This helped the building committee get a larger settlement than what was originally offered, said Dennis Zink, current treasurer at Bethlehem Baptist. 

“We put our heads together to overcome the fire,” Zink said. 

After finalizing that insurance would cover $3.6 million in damages, Bethlehem Baptist secured a loan of $1.5 million in June 2017 and soon broke ground on their new facilities. 

After two years of construction, Bethlehem Baptist met in their new facilities for the first time in August 2019. The new facilities were designed to serve the community’s everyday needs. Intentional spaces were planned to provide for what they hoped would be a growing congregation full of families and children, said Dwayne Simmons, chairman of the building committee.

“We want the facilities to be as multifunctional as possible where we can have the lights on every day of the week, not just Sunday and Wednesday,” Simmons said. 

Paying down the debt 

When Chambers was hired as pastor in 2020, the church had $1.2 million in debt. Seeing this burden on the church’s budget, Chambers set out to save money without sacrificing ministry. By emphasizing trust in the Lord, Chambers said if they looked beyond their situation and gave to missions upfront, God would honor that and see that their needs were met. 

“When you’re rebuilding a church and you’re down, you have a tendency to focus inward, not outward,” Chambers said, “But the church is bigger than a building. It’s not us. The building is what God gives us to do ministry.”

This commitment was not without its reward. Over the last four years, 105 new members have joined, and the church was able to complete countless ministry projects and commission many mission trips. On top of encouraging congregants to tithe, Bethlehem Baptist also does a “$10 above your tithe” giving drive in which that money goes directly to their missions budget. 

To save money in order to contribute to the principal of their loan, the church went through its budget, trimming the things that they did not need, reassessing contracts and curbing spending habits. These efforts helped significantly, but the church still needed extra giving to pay off the debt by their intended goal of July 2025 — the 10th anniversary of the fire. 

To supplement these efforts to pay down the debt early, Bethlehem Baptist held a capital campaign separate from tithing in which all money raised went directly toward the loan’s principal. 

As a part of that, the church would host a “harvest offering” before Thanksgiving where they would open the church up for 24 hours and have people sign up for a time slot to pray that God would provide the means to pay the building off and encourage members to give as the Lord led. 

Over the years, Bethlehem Baptist received many legacy gifts, memorials and “out of the blue” gifts to go toward the loan, and they attribute those donations as a large reason why they were able to pay down their debt so quickly. With the help of a generous legacy gift, the final payment was made on May 20, 2024 — 14 months ahead of the goal. 

Many church members who have been with the church since before the fire have witnessed firsthand the changes and challenges Bethlehem has faced but also the blessing that this time has been. Katherine McCoy, member of Bethlehem Baptist for over 70 years, said that despite these changes, she couldn’t imagine anywhere else she’d have rather raised her family. 

“It makes you want to cry when you see pictures of the fire, but if it weren’t for the fire we wouldn’t have this beautiful building,” McCoy said. 

Celebrating the victory 

During the celebration service, Chambers and Simmons recognized the many influential people that contributed to the success of the rebuilding, after which Chambers and staff prepared to burn the promissory note, emphasizing how the Lord has provided for them thus far. 

As the note was lit, the smell of smoke filled the sanctuary once again, but this time to signify celebration. As Chambers finished burning the note, dropping it into a bowl of water on the communion table, congregants stood and applauded, praising the Lord for what He had done in their church and through His people.  

This moment signified a closing of a chapter but not the end of the story for Bethlehem Baptist. 

“I want to give God the glory,” Chambers said in closing, “When this church burnt down in 2015, we could’ve said, that’s it, we’re shutting the doors, and you all would be at different churches. But He still has a purpose for this church.”