Fort Worth church reopens doors 4 months after devastating fire

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth church has opened its door once again, just months after a storm triggered a devastating fire there.

During a thunderstorm on May 30, a power line fell on the metal roof and triggered a fire in the attic at True Love Sanctuary off Yuma Street.

The church was left unsafe to be used for services or any gathering.

The community has worked for the last four months for this day to finally come.

"There's been some tears. There's been some times of sleepless nights, it's been some times of wondering," said Bishop Michael E. Williams.

Williams says the community that they have supported for more than 20 years stepped up to help.

Donations helped to re-build the small, but mighty house of worship.

"We never gave up on God, on faith that we have in God, that God was going to pull us through this," Williams said.

The 100-member flock never left the site of the church, despite there being no physical sanctuary to worship in.

They made due.

"We never let up, had church on the sidewalk and God was with us all the time," said one churchgoer.

Everything in the building is new, from the walls to the roof, just in time for the upcoming Thanksgiving giveaway.

The time-honored tradition allows them to feed thousands of people in the surrounding community.

"If we don't do Thanksgiving here a lot of people wouldn't have Thanksgiving in this community," said Williams.

Bishop Williams said last Thanksgiving alone, the church helped over 4,000 families experiencing food insecurity.

The church also holds a Christmas giveaway in December.

Now, they have a brand-new kitchen to help people.

Churchgoers are thankful to the multiple interfaith groups who pitched in to make Sunday's ribbon-cutting a reality.

"Ain't no stopping us now. No matter what it looked like God turned it all around," said a churchgoer.