Pastor says they are ‘down, but not out’ after large fire at church

SOMERSET, Ky. (WKYT) - The pastor of the southern Kentucky church that was heavily damaged by fire on Thursday says they will rebuild.

The fire broke out in the office and classroom section of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Somerset.

Pastor James Taylor says the church is home to about 90 to 100 parishioners. He says this has them down, but not out and says they will move on from here.

As far as services this Sunday, they are not sure what they are going to do. They hope to get back into the sanctuary as the firewall did its job and protected the sanctuary. Although, the sanctuary did have some smoke and water damage.

“Think it is probably a few days to get everything worked out and see where we are going to be at and meet. We have had a lot of people reach out and offer us facilities. We are not going to let this stop us. We are going to keep moving on and keep doing what God has called us to do,” said Taylor.

The minister says he is thankful that one no one was inside the church when the fire broke out. He says, normally, they would be having activities inside.

The Somerset fire chief says they have the area where the fire started narrowed down, but the cause is still being looked into.

Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved.