Fire Damages Newnan Church

NEWNAN, Ga. - A Newnan church is severely damaged after a fire broke out, and they're looking for a new place to hold Sunday service.

Apostle Tilden Colton said, "It's extremely frustrating because we put a lot of work back in the summer, we did quite a bit of remodeling."

Now all that work is either charred, or damaged by smoke. The fire broke out at The City of Zion Deliverance Tabernacle Church on Dyer Road Thursday morning.

"It was devastating because we have a lot of history in our ministry. Our ministry has been in existence for 48 years and my father actually founded the ministry," said Colton.

From the outside the church looks ok, but inside is a different story. Coweta County Fire Marshal Blain Shirley is investigating.

"In the wake of everything that s happened in the past you want to be cautious. We've contacted the state fire marshal’s office, we've also let ATF know everything we're seeing so far, right not looks to be an accidental fire" said Shirley.

Apostle Colton says the good news is everything can be replaced. He still needs to find a location for Sunday's service but he has faith that will work out too.

"We're a strong congregation and we have survived a lot of storms and we will survive this one as well," said Colton.

The fire was detected early by someone who was passing by, saw smoke, and called 911.  Apostle Colton said he wants to thank that person for alerting the fire department, had it not been for a quick 911 call the church could have been a total loss.