By Mark Woolsey
The pastor of an Austell church says they will rebuild following Monday night’s blaze that heavily damaged the Prayer City Eagles Chapel church on Joe Jerkins Boulevard, and following the arrest of a suspect.
Church officials summed it up in a social media post, “What the enemy means for evil, God will turn for good.” The same post said that the woman suspect had made “threats against our pastor.”
One churchgoer, Jacky Tamo, told Atlanta News First that she had received odd and threatening texts for some time before the blaze, as had others.
Twenty-five-year-old Aries Jordan was arrested at a Mableton apartment complex. She’s been charged with arson in the first degree, criminal damage to property, burglary, terroristic threats and more.
Austell Fire Chief Brandon Merritt said that “the suspect had had prior interactions with church leadership during a brief period of attendance.”
He said that nothing indicates that this was related to any hate crime.
The Georgia State Fire Marshal’s Office assisted Austell authorities in the investigation.
Firefighters say that when they arrived Monday night, flames were already shooting through the roof of the 33,000-square-foot building. Merritt said in a news release that firefighters remained on the scene for 19 hours after the Initial call, apparently dousing hot spots and doing cleanup. The blaze was reported under control after 2-3 hours.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt.
Not long before the blaze, the church had finished a rebuilding effort that stemmed from heavy damage from flooding in 2023.
The church and supporters are conducting multiple fundraising efforts to build back, with its website saying it is aiming for $4 million. A GoFundMe account had gathered in about $2700 by Thursday evening.
Senior pastor Raphael Grant told his congregation and well-wishers in a statement this week “we will rebuild not just the building, but the community and faith that made us who we are. Already I’ve heard from so many of you offering prayer, hope and encouragement.”
He promised to share the community’s next steps soon.
In the meantime, Grant says the church will hold a worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday in their parking lot.