BEVERLY — Services at the First Assembly of God will go on as scheduled Sunday morning, with one exception. They'll be held in the parking lot.
A fast-moving fire destroyed the inside of the church Monday night. Yesterday, the Rev. Chester "Skip" Gray said the congregation will rebuild the church that has stood on Dolloff Avenue in Ryal Side since the 1950s.
"We're going to have a prayer meeting in the parking lot rain or shine this Sunday," Gray said. "We want to show we're not beaten down yet."
Beverly fire Capt. Jeff Sirois said the cause of the fire appears to have been accidental. The investigation is ongoing. No one was in the building at the time of the fire, and nobody was injured.
Gray said the fire began on a rug under a piano in the front of the church. The entire inside of the building will have to be gutted, but the structure is sound, he said. He's hopeful that the church's insurance will cover most of the cost of rebuilding, so donations are not needed.
"We're asking for prayer," he said. "It's going to be hard on the people to hold ourselves together in a completely different place than we've been."
The church and land are assessed at $780,000, according to city records.
The Beverly First Assembly of God congregation started in the 1950s and met at various storefront locations until it moved to the Dolloff Avenue location in 1958. Membership grew under former pastor John Penney, and the church building was expanded in the 1970s.
Gray, who lives in Middleton, joined the Pentecostal church in 1982 and became pastor in 1995 when Penney retired. Gray also works as a buyer at Christian Book Distributors in Peabody.
The pastor said his congregation is "very small" and will meet elsewhere until the church is rebuilt. Local churches have already stepped forward to offer the use of their buildings, he said.
First Assembly of God shares the Ryal Side church with a sister Brazilian Assembly of God congregation that numbers around 80 members.
"We've got a good relationship," Gray said. "I'm hoping we can all come back together once we sort things out. There's a lot of people out of a church home right now."
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by email at pleighton@salemnews.com.
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