Leveled by Gatlinburg fire, church now stands bigger and blessed

Senior Pastor Kim McCroskey inspects a statue outside the remains of the family life center at Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg on Dec. 6, 2016. The church and center burned down in fires a week earlier.
Senior Pastor Kim McCroskey inspects a statue outside the remains of the family life center at Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg on Dec. 6, 2016. The church and center burned down in fires a week earlier.
photo The Rev. Kim McCroskey stands in front of the new worship center being built at Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg. Amy McRary/News Sentinel staff

GATLINBURG - Leveled by the Nov. 28, 2016, wildfire that swept through its town and killed 14 people, Gatlinburg's Roaring Fork Baptist Church is rebuilt - bigger, better and blessed.

The Rev. Kim McCroskey sees the last 13 months of challenges and gifts as the Lord's plan. The devil tried to destroy his church but only burned its buildings. Great things, he believes, will happen when Roaring Fork comes home in early 2018.

"The Lord gave the devil permission to burn [the church] down. But the devil didn't know what was coming. If the devil had seen all this now - and he's not omnipotent like the Lord is - I believe he'd have left us alone," McCroskey said before Christmas.

Read more at our news partner's website, knoxnews.com.

photo The remains of Roaring Fork Baptist Church, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Gatlinburg, Tenn. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

Devastating Gatlinburg fires

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