“Odds Were Against Us, God Was Not.” Their Church Burned to the Ground—But Every Bible Survived

The flames showed up uninvited just hours before churchgoers would have gathered for weekly services at Freedom Ministry Church.

The Grandview, West Virgina church burned to the ground in the overnight hours of Sunday, March 3rd. But while the building was destroyed in the ferocious fire, first responders say something else, inexplicably, was not—every Bible in the church was recovered and the crosses inside the structure were left untouched. 

In a Facebook post by the Coal City Fire Department, which assisted in responding to Freedom Ministry Church, officials addressed the incredible outcome: “Picture this, a building so hot that at one point in time, firefighters had to back out. In your mind, everything should be burned, ashes. Not a single bible was burned and not a single cross was harmed!! Not a single firefighter was hurt!”

There are more than 4,000 comments on the post, which has now been shared more than 43,000 times. Reading through the comments reveals a seemingly divine theme, with many posters recounting similar experiences after devastating scenes.

First responder Erin Hoover writes, “I was a responding vol. firefighter on 9/11 to Flight 93 in Shanksville, Somerset County. We were walking in the woods yelling for survivors, and looking for the wreckage, when we got on scene. We found wallets and papers, blowing in the wind, that were charred and burnt. Unreadable. We did however, find a Bible. Untouched. Completely readable. I don’t talk much about responding that day, but felt compelled to share my story too. I have PTSD from that call. But you’re right. God is with us on those bad calls, those bad days. You just have to look up.”

Dean Vandall adds, “Out of every structure fire I have responded to in the past 20 years, not one bible has burned, they might have smoke damage or charred around the edges but you could still read every page. We gave the owners back a lot of bibles over the years. It just goes to show that God’s word is more powerful than the devil’s fire and fury no matter how hot it gets. God was watching over all you guys last night, and every fire call y’all go on.”

The church posted a photo of smoke from the fire on Facebook, writing, “in the midst of the smoke, you can see Jesus. He was there with us!”

The church says it will rebuild, but “we will be OK.”