BARNWELL, S.C. (WJBF)- Hundreds of firefighters worked for more than eight hours putting out a fire at Hagood Avenue Baptist Church.

“We’ve got fire departments from Bamberg County, Barnwell County, Allendale County, Hampton County, and Aiken County currently assisting,” said Mark Cato, Barnwell Fire Dept.

What started off small turned into a large effort, as members of the church gathered, putting up tents to hand out food and drinks for firefighters on the scene.

The pastor says, thankfully, no one was in the church at the time of the fire. Now, they’re having to make other plans to keep the church running.

“We were going to have a family conference this weekend, and we’ve had to reschedule that, and we’re going to get out all the information for our Sunday worship gathering in the next little bit,” said Sandifer.

Sandifer says he’s also thankful for the Barnwell community and others looking to help in any way they can.

“The biggest thing we need right now is just prayer. We’re very confident that God is going to take care of his people and provide for us. We know that the building is a place we’ve been given to meet, but the church is the people,”  said Sandifer.

Visit Hagood Avenue Baptist Church Facebook page to stay up to date.

If you would like to donate to Hagood Avenue Baptist Church rebuilding fund, you can donate here.