Christ Church Apostolic church holds service in new space after two-alarm fire destroys building on Fuqua Street in SE Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Members of a southeast Houston church gathered at a new location Sunday after their building, Christ Church Apostolic, burned in a two-alarm fire on Saturday morning.

“I know we can get another building. God can bless us. Someone in the city can bless us in some way. We’re just grateful right now to have a place to meet and this is very special,” Pastor Jon McDaniel said.

Sunday service was being held at the FountainBlu banquet and event center in Pasadena, after a fire destroyed their building Saturday morning in southeast Houston on Fuqua Street.

Church leader Kara Barron said her husband told her to hold onto hope.

“I was heartbroken at what I was seeing, and he said, ‘Ultimately everything is rebuildable, the hardest part of all of this is going to be the things that we can’t replace,” Sunday school superintendent Kara Barron said.

While that’s the charred building right now, that hope she mentioned is being reflected in a recovered picture.

“We were able to recover a photograph in a wooden frame of the original pastor and pastor’s wife, Fred and Jean Olson,” Barron said.

Current pastor Jon McDaniel said even a Bible from 1690 survived the flames.

“And they went in there and that bible was still there and still in cases and everything was okay and the fireman said, ‘The box has been singed but the word is okay,'” Pastor McDaniel said.

McDaniel adding that he wants everyone to be able to gather for the word despite the recent heartbreak.

“The church is going to go on and for me. I just care about, can the people come together, can they cry with each other, and kind of hurt with each other. We need this right now,” Pastor McDaniel said.

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