The Haywood campus of the growing First Baptist Simpsonville Upstate Church in South Carolina escaped tragedy over the weekend when leaders managed to relocate services hours before the sanctuary’s roof collapsed on Sunday morning.
Wayne Bray, lead pastor of First Baptist Simpsonville Upstate Church, which has 7,700 members who worship at nine locations across South Carolina, explained in a video statement on Facebook that the collapse didn’t surprise them.
He said one of his staff members discovered cracks in the sanctuary the night before the roof collapsed. Once they realized what the problem was, they immediately began making plans overnight to hold Sunday services in the gymnasium on the property.
“We did not allow anybody into the dangerous building so no one was hurt. No one was even in danger of being hurt,” he said.
“We took care of that and took the necessary precautions to ensure no one was injured. And so I’m grateful for our teaching pastor there, Dallas Wilson, such a responsible and solid leader. [He] made sure he took care of folks, and he had his volunteers and staff who made sure that we kept people in the right places and kept them out of the wrong places. To God be the glory. Everybody’s fine,” he added.
Bray said the roof collapsed at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, but a city fire official told NBC News affiliate WYFF4 that a fire crew spotted the collapse at 9:31 a.m. and dispatched rescue crews.
William Dallas Wilson, who is the church’s teaching pastor, described Sunday as “a wild one” but maintained that the roof collapse would not stop God’s work.
“The church never plays defense, always offense. ‘On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.’ — Jesus. Gates are used for defense because the church is on the move!” he declared in a statement on Facebook.
“Today was a wild one. The building is broken, but the church of God is still moving forward. The gospel was preached. People were saved. Believers were baptized. We’re not playing defense; Upstate Church is moving forward. Charge On!” he added.
Traci Weldie, connections coordinator at Upstate Church Haywood, told WYFF4 that she and others were at the church preparing for baptisms when the roof collapsed in the empty sanctuary.
“We were sorting through the baptism supplies when the roof crashed in,” she said. “Just a huge wind came through the hallway. [It] almost knocked us over.”
Bray said the Upstate Church Haywood campus was launched just two-and-a-half years ago with just over 100 people, and now the campus has more than 700 weekly worshipers.
“It’s really an amazing story,” he said. “Even today, with all these circumstances, we still had over 700 people in worship. People baptized in every service; it’s really an amazing thing.”
He further noted that the church had already taken steps to secure the damaged building and that worship will continue at the campus.
“We have never felt like a building is our church,” he said. “A building may come and go. Buildings are built and buildings fall, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ will stand forever, and that is what our faith is built on.”
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