WINSTON-SALEM, NC (WGHP/CNN) – Members of a North Carolina church are in shock after their building went up in flames.
"I just started screaming like, ‘The church is on fire,’ and thinking that it was a nightmare," said Alice Roseboro, a church member.
Roseboro, along with other church members and neighbors, watched as flames ripped through the building, bringing most of the nearly 80-year-old building to the ground.
"Fire was just coming out like the back part of the windows or whatever. It was like a big flame," Roseboro said. "But as we were standing there, that's when there was a big whoosh and the ceiling fell in."
People who lived next to the church were asked to evacuate. They are now being helped by the Red Cross.
Teresa Phillips lives next door to the church. Her family was forced to evacuate after the fire spread to their house.
"We ran out and went around back and the whole back of the church was on fire," Phillips said.
Pastor Wallice Hairston made it to the scene as the sun rose. He was speechless when he saw the damage, which was worse than he’d expected.
"I wasn't prepared for it," Hairston said.
But Hairston said the fire will not stop the church, since its faith is too strong.
To members wondering about the future of their church, Hairston said: "Look to God. The building is not the church. You are the church. You are the one that God puts his spirit in. And that building there we can rebuild."
Investigators are working to find out what caused the fire.
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