January 25th, 2010
The recent church burnings familiar to what happened in Alabama several years ago has united the Tyler TX Christian community in prayer. Churches from multiple denominations came to Bergfeld Park to pray and show support to the Tyler community effected by these burnings. The reaction by many was one of anger, shock, and yet trust in God that somehow God will use this for His glory. 
My friend Caleb was there taking pictures of the event for a friend. Sometime after taking the pictures an ATF agent approached him thinking he fit the profile of someone at the Church of Christ Scientist church fire. The ATF agent was mistaken but as any good ATF agent should do he was following every possible lead and profile match. It is actually quite impressive that the ATF agents were at the church fire prayer rally and it shows their zealousness in bringing an end to this violent destruction of Tyler churches.
Using the word violent to describe these crimes is not too strong of language. A church fire could easily kill someone especially in the likely event that the church is near an old house or has a parish attached to it. Someone could easily be killed living in or near a church. If there isn’t an operable fire alarm in the nearby house or church building these lunatics could kill someone in their sleep. How do you think you would feel if your vandalism caused a baby or innocent child to burn alive or die from smoke inhalation? Something tells me that maybe these criminals have not thought of some of the possibilities that could occur while burning buildings.
Thinking back about one recent fire involving in East Texas landmark building that wasn’t even a church it makes me wonder if there isn’t so much of a desire to burn churches as more of a desire to create attention. No one is sure if all of these fires are connected but the fact that not every recent suspicious fire was a church makes me wonder if the arsonists have continued along the path of church burnings because they like the attention that it receives? These are only my opinions on what might be the motive of these Tyler TX church fires and I am sure the authorities are exploring these ideas and many more as they receive leads.
The authorities investigating these crimes have said that many leads are beginning to trickle in and they are using these to hone in on possible suspects. They have not yet revealed if they believe it was the result of one or more people but over the next several weeks this will probably be revealed as the evidence is researched where it was sent in San Fransisco.
Authorities are now connecting a church fire in Corsicana TX back in 2009 with these recent burnings and looking for similarities. There is no ruling yet if the fire in 2009 was done by the same people but they are looking for any possible connection. The authorities still have not narrowed down a suspect but the community is on high alert in Tyler and there is not a day that does not go by that I do not fail to see many police and marshals on the roads.
An official tip line has been established that will be manned 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The Church Arson Hotline numbers are: 903-939-6169 or 903-939-6172 and don’t forget there is a $10,000 reward for evidence about who may have done the arson.
Tags: Arsonists, Atf Agent, Atf Agents, Bergfeld Park, Burning Buildings, church burnings, Church Fire, Church of Christ Scientist, East Texas, Fire Prayer, Innocent Child, Lunatics, Prayer Rally, Smoke Inhalation, Suspicious Fire, Texas Landmark, Trust In God, Tyler TX, Using The Word, Violent Destruction
Posted in Churches | 1 Comment »
January 20th, 2010
2401 South Main Street
Lindale, TX 75771-7704
(903) 882-7597
Fellowship of Prairie Creek Church in Lindale Texas had a fire started in the back chapel at 7:30 a.m. this morning. The police said it appeared that someone broke in from the back of the building. Fortunately this church fire was quickly contained and the church will be ok. This represents the 8th church in East Texas to be burned and the 9th church in the state since January 1 2010.
I wonder if some of the church burnings are copy cat crimes and what exactly is going on here. Whoever is doing this must not have a job and is zealous about going after churches. If anyone has any information about who may be doing this please comment below.
Tags: Cat Crimes, church burnings, Church Fire, Churches, Copy Cat, East Texas, Fellowship Church, January 1, Job, Lindale Texas, Lindale Tx, Prairie creek Church, Prairie Creek Church in Lindale Texas
Posted in Non-denominational | No Comments »
January 19th, 2010
The First Baptist Church in Temple TX has been burned down. This marks the 8th church in Texas to be burned down since January 2010. This church is a little further off the map in more of a central Texas area than where most of the churches were burned in East Texas.
The arsonist appear to be evading authorities by moving from city to city before things become too obvious. These criminals will be caught eventually and I encourage everyone to install security cameras that have night surveillance ability outside their church buildings.
Local Tyler Texas and East TX churches can pick up night video security cameras at Sam’s Wholsale Club for fairly cheap. If your church members pull in together and install one of these cameras on your outside facilities you should be able to get the arsonists in action and bring this church burning issue to a quick close.
These people in my opinion are probably highschoolers believing this is somehow fun. They could also be Muslim extremists also relatively young as Muslim extremists usually are. Considering the arsonists burned down a Church of Christ Scientist they obviously do not know the difference between a real Christian church and a cult.
Because the arsonists are targeting any building that appears to be a church it could be that they do not have a good understanding of what is considered a Christian church which leads me to consider the possibility that they are Muslim. It is also possible these people could be atheists but I don’t believe atheists normally use violence to make their point.
The only other possibility is that these people are just your run of the mill pyros like the guy in the movie “The Stand”.
Tags: Arsonist, Arsonists, Atheists, Church Buildings, church burnings, Church Members, Church Of Christ, Church of Christ Scientist, Churches, Criminals, Cult, East Texas, First Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Temple TX, Good Understanding, Muslim Extremists, Night Surveillance, Temple Texas, Temple Tx, Tyler Texas, Video Security Cameras, Wholsale
Posted in Churches | 12 Comments »
January 18th, 2010
Green Acres Baptist Church is located at 1607 Troup Hwy, Tyler, Texas 75701. Green Acres Baptist Church mission statement is that they exist to exalt God’s greatness and spread the word to God’s world making sure people are fully ready to share God’s love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Everything they do is to bring people to Christ. My family has been members of this church as long as I can remember. At first I did not like it because I judged the people in the church according to my Sunday school class members and what was happening there. I automatically assumed that the whole congregation must be the same. With that in mind, I was a 14 year old girl trying to fit in somewhere and Green Acres seemed too rich and too big to me. I felt ashamed to be there because we had very little money. Therefore, I felt like I did not fit in because I was not driving the right car or wearing the name brand clothes. For that reason I left the church when I was old enough to drive and choose somewhere else to worship.
Don’t worry the story does not end like this, teenage years are hard anyway for anybody too young to really know what is going on and peer pressure is strong for girls to want to fit in somewhere cool. When I became an adult, I went back to Green Acres and realized that I had made some ugly judgments upon the church based on my teenage years. Not very fair I know but like I said I have long changed my mind about what I thought in my younger years. I will be honest, too big of a place for me. Prefer smaller groups of people nothing wrong with larger ones…just feel more comfortable in something not as big.
Pastor Dyke’s is a great teacher. You can tell he loves God and wants to reach the world for His name sake There are so many opportunities they offer probably too many to list. My family has been uniquely bless in so many ways by the members there. Anytime we called and needed help ….they were always ready to reach out to those in need. Need counseling…they have it; lacking in food, clothing or other necessities, Green Acres is fully equipped to help you and love to reach out and help the community and share the love of Jesus.
Your marriage on the rocks…you can go to a 10-12 weeks Seminar that Cindy Dykes is holding for couples that are engaged, dating or married and want to learn more about how to relate to one another. I went to the program myself and loved it. Anything you learn you can apply to your life and help you become a better person. The library is big and offers movies, books and Cd’s that you can rent at no cost. You don’t have to rent…you can also buy it if you would like to keep it. There is a children’s area that is very safe, our daughter loved being there and playing with the other babies. The personnel that volunteered to watch the children were very nice and you could tell they loved being there and spending time with them. Everybody is welcome no matter the race, sex, or denomination. Tons of exciting stuff for your children to do. Don’t think you have to worry about not having enough to do. Maybe the opposite, too much fun things to do.
If you’re looking for a place to join or visit and don’t mind a big place, then you may have found the congregation you have been looking for. Refrain from making the same mistake as I did….by judging a place before you know more about it. Go visit and see for yourself if Green Acres Baptist Church is the Tyler TX church congregation for you and your family.
Tags: Acres Baptist Church, Baptist Church, Church Mission Statement, Class Members, Dyke, God, Greatness, Green Acres, Green Acres Baptist Church, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Judgments, Name Brand Clothes, Name Sake, Old Girl, Peer Pressure, People, Right Car, Sunday School Class, Teenage Years, Troup Hwy, Tyler Texas, Tyler Texas 75701
Posted in Southern Baptist | No Comments »
January 17th, 2010
Christian Science Church 1st Address and Phone Number
Church of Christ Scientist Tyler
(903) 592-0462
106 E Second St
Tyler, TX 75701
Today represents the 7th church in East Texas to be burned to the ground by arsonists. According to sources the Christian Science church in Tyler TX near Bergfeld Park was burned down. This church is also known as Church of Christ Scientist. These church burnings are being intentionally burned down by pyro freaks who seem to get a kick out of the news stories and publicity surrounding the burnings. The problem is their motivation is what will eventually nab them. An arsonist has a twisted point of view in thinking that they will not get caught. With this many church burnings in Tyler and East Texas you will find a heightened level of security and surveillance at many churches throughout the area.
Neighbors and citizens of Tyler Texas are now on the watch for any suspicious activity around a church, especially at night. The fact that the Christian Science church was burned down in the early hours of the evening tonight proves just how invincible these people must think they are at being caught.
Our pastor has made the point that what these arsonists do not realize is that Christian people in the city of Tyler will be praying for the hearts and minds of these arsonists. God will eventually get a hold of these people’s spiritual corrupt state and hopefully turn them around to the saving faith in Jesus Christ. Our pastor encourages local Christian believers to pray for these people and for the churches that have been the victims of these crimes.
Christian Science Church is only the latest in these wave of East Texas church burnings. It is only a matter of time until these people are caught. I really think that these people are probably teenagers and may even be intelligent people but with just a twisted spiritual and mental state which causes them to make really bizarre and evil choices. Tyler is filled with churches almost on every street corner which is why we are considered the heart of the Bible belt. I encourage everyone to be on the lookout and feel free to leave a comment if you see anything suspicious or know anything about who these people might be.
The people who burnt down Christian Science Church in Tyler probably have a motive that revolves around the notion that there are a lot of churches in town. Because Tyler has so many churches it may seem to be an obvious target for someone as twisted as these people are. I assume they are going after the attention that a stunt like this would cause because so many people are affected when a church is burnt to the ground.
If we all work together in the city of Tyler we can quickly put a stop to these people and bring upon them swift justice.
Here’s a listing of the 7 churches of East Texas to have burned so far… (1) Lake Athens Baptist Church, (2) Grace Community Church Athens, (3) Faith Church Athens, (4) Little Hope Baptist Church, (5) a church in Martin’s Mill, (6) Tyland Baptist Church Tyler, and (7) Church of Christ Scientist Tyler. All of these since January 1st 2010… Please pray!
Tags: Arsonist, Arsonists, Bergfeld Park, Christian Believers, Christian Science, Christian Science Church, Christian Science Church 1st, Christian Science Church Tyler TX, church burnings, Church Of Christ, Church of Christ Scientist, City Of Tyler, Corrupt State, East Texas, Freaks, Hearts And Minds, Jesus Christ, Matter Of Time, News Stories, Saving Faith, Suspicious Activity, Tyland Baptist Church, Tyler Texas, Tyler TX
Posted in Churches | 2 Comments »
