Sheriff: Catawba County Church Fire was Intentionally Set

VALE, NC – We now know a church fire in Catawba County was intentionally set. Members of Providence Baptist Church in Vale came together Monday night to pray and search for answers.

“We’re a church centered around love and compassion, sincerity of the Christian faith,” explains church Pastor Ernie Richards.

Richards says the fire started around 2:00am Monday in the basement, destroying the downstairs hallway, and leaving the sanctuary with extensive smoke damage.

The FBI and ATF were on the scene Monday investigating.

Members want to know what the motivation could have been.

The words, “Anti-Gay Hate Group” were found spray painted on the sidewalk and on an outbuilding.

“Possibly we have a little mistaken identity here,” says church member Ashley Byles.

A church with a similar name, Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, made national news in 2012, after the pastor said gay people should be locked in a fence, so they would, “die out.”

Providence Baptist in Vale got so many angry calls, with people mistaking them with the Maiden church, that they had to change their phone number.The pastor and members here say they welcome everyone.

“We don’t have extreme attitudes about different things,” Richards says.

Despite being covered in soot, 300 Samaritan’s Purse Christmas boxes were able to be salvaged.

“We’re able to clean them up and we’ll get ’em shipped off today,” Byles says.

The Pastor says he’d like to sit down with whoever is responsible and just ask them… why?

“They need to get to know us. And not identify something or someone that they have seen, never been around,” Richards says.