First Baptist Dallas Plans to rebuild the historic temple, which burned in a four-alarm fire in July, were presented to the congregation for the first time Sunday.

Senior pastor Robert Jeffress said the rebuilt sanctuary will be modeled after the old 1908 design of the building, which has been remodeled four times. Dallas Morning News. “I think when people see the magnificence of this, they will understand why we went that route,” he said.

Jeffress said the building’s bell tower will also resemble the bell tower in the 1908 design. The church hopes the steeple will light up at night and become a landmark in downtown Dallas.

The reconstruction will include some of the stained glass from the charred building and aim to preserve three exterior walls of the historic sanctuary, Jeffress said.

According to one report, First Baptist started in 1868 with three men and eight women. story News on the 150th anniversary of the church. A. Texas Historical Commission The church’s first building downtown was a one-room frame structure built in 1871, and “part of the Victorian, red brick building was built in 1890,” Marker says.

The chapel, which burned down in July, had served as the church’s principal place of worship for more than a century. In 2013 it became the secondary chapel of the church. We completed the restoration and expansion from its facilities in the city centre.

Once completed, the rebuilt chapel will provide about 2-3 times more community gathering space than before, Jeffress said. “The church shouldn’t be sitting in the pews and staring at the backs of other people’s heads,” he said. “Now is the time to engage with each other, and this new community space will allow us to do that.”

Ben Lovvorn, the church’s executive pastor, said the church has not yet made an estimate on the timeline or cost of the rebuild.

The church chose the Beck Group of Dallas. best known design and construction companies to lead the rebuilding effort. “Our Planning and Development Committee unanimously selected Beck Group for their creativity, expertise in restoring historic buildings, and long history with First Baptist Dallas.” Jeffress said. News.

A four-alarm fire that broke out on the evening of July 19 destroyed the church’s 134-year-old historic sanctuary. Firefighters say this fire started in the basement of the building.

A Dallas Fire Rescue spokesman said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. said News last month.

The church currently has approximately 16,000 members. was called Notre Dame by the denomination’s newly elected president shortly after the fire of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News in partnership with Report for America.

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