Mineral Springs Baptist celebrates the church that was not destroyed by fire

By Message Staff

DUBACH, La. (LBM) – Standing a few feet from the rubble left behind from an early morning fire on Saturday, Pastor Greg Tipton said Sunday afternoon that God has a bright future planned for Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Dubach.

“This is what’s left of it,” Tipton told his congregation assembled on the church parking lot. “But I’m here to tell you today the church is good because the church is not the building.

“The church is the people,” he emphasized, “and the people of God are good today.”

“This is going to be the first part of our rebuilding starting today,” he continued. “Right now, the church is rebuilding our campus.”

During his brief message based off 1 Corinthians 13:13, Tipton shared about how faith, hope and love are crucial to moving ahead.

“Those three things are things that are necessary for this church, not just to rebuild a building, but for us to build the Kingdom in a good way,” he said.

A fire that was discovered around 9:30 a.m. Saturday destroyed the congregation’s worship center, sound room, office space and nursery; and, the fellowship hall received smoke damage.

Tipton said Mineral Springs Baptist has received offers from other churches to allow them to meet temporarily, but that nothing has been decided about whether services will continue on the parking lot or be moved elsewhere.

Church member Wanda Beckham told the Baptist Message after the service that seeing what the fire destroyed was difficult, but, regardless, she believes the future is bright.

“We will hit the floor running and are determined not to get sidetracked on little things and I see a bigger and brighter future forward,” Beckham said. “I think too many of us took for granted that our building would always stand. Well, God had other plans. So we will follow God’s lead and hopefully be a beacon of light for years to come.”

A GoFundMe page has been established for Mineral Springs Baptist. To donate, click here.