TIFTON — A fire Thursday completely destroyed a church building in Tift County, officials said Friday.

A blaze broke out at the tabernacle of South Georgia Church of God at 42 Kell Road.

Tift County Fire/Rescue was on the scene at 1:30 p.m., said Chief Jason Walker.

The building was a total loss, he said.

No one was injured in the blaze, the chief said.

The office of the state fire commissioner has been called in to investigate, Walker said.

The fire commissioner’s office has investigators and K9 teams in place in Tift County but is waiting to start their work until “hot spots” have been taken care of, said Weston Burleton, communications director for the commissioner’s office.

The Tift County facility, established in 1972, is essentially a campground used for mass gatherings, such as conventions and camp meetings, for the 250 churches supervised by the South Georgia Church of God, said Jamie Schluckebier, communications director for the organization.

The building that burned was the facility’s main building and could seat about 1,500, he said. It was not home to a permanent congregation that met regularly.

The church plans to rebuild the building. “We had insurance on it,” Schluckebier said.

Meanwhile, church authorities will work to move scheduled events to other venues, including other buildings on site if possible, he said.

A church event planned for Friday — Junior Talents — has been postponed until May 13-14, a post on the church’s Facebook page said.

 

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.