Crews respond to church fire in Baker County

BAKER COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) - A fire early Sunday morning heavily damaged a church that stood for 150 years.

Crews responded to a fire at Thankful Baptist Church in Newton around 3 a.m. today.

Pastor Wadis Williams and his wife have led the congregation for 21 years.

Now their church of 300 members is looking for a temporary house of worship.

Pastor Wadis Williams of Thankful Baptist Church said that "We built a new edifice in 1998, and we paid it off in 7 years - and so, to be debt free and this happens, that's devastation."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as the state fire marshal are helping with the investigation.