Members celebrate ‘small miracle’ in defiance of enemy after lightning strikes church setting it ablaze

July 7, 2026

Members of a church in Medford, New Jersey, praised God Sunday in defiance of what they see as a plan by the devil to stop their worship less than 48 hours after their church was struck by lightning, sparking a blaze that damaged a portion of the roof.

The Christian Post reports that the Fellowship Alliance Chapel said a section of the worship center’s roof caught fire after it was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm on Friday.

The church reported, “Thankfully, nobody was in the building at the time, so nobody was hurt,” and also noted that nearly 400 personnel from five counties armed with 70 pieces of firefighting equipment responded to the blaze caused by lightning.

Dave Gutekunst, chairman of the elder board at Fellowship Alliance Chapel, told CBS News Sunday, “The enemy had plans to stop our worship of our Lord and Savior this morning, but praise God, we are here.”

Gutekunst said, “Words can’t even describe the emotions right now that we are here still holding church today.”

Church member Paul Casdia added, “It felt like a small miracle. It seemed so unlikely we would have church this morning. It was emotional.”

According to the Christian Post, Gutekunst told CBS News that he wasn’t yet sure how long it would take to fix the fire damage. He also noted that even though the damage felt like a gut punch, he knows God has a plan.

In a statement, the church said, “God has called us through this as a family, and He will sustain us. Now’s the time to ‘lean in’ to encourage one another and remind each other of His faithfulness throughout the coming weeks as we work through the remediation process.”

Photo: top, Credit: Facebook/Medford Lake Fire Department