ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On the first Sunday since a fire badly damaged a church in Cobb County, the congregation gathered to worship, sending a message that through faith, there is hope.

On Sept. 29, fire crews raced to the Prayer City Eagles Chapel in Austell. Flames ripped through the roof, Bibles were aflame and the sanctuary was destroyed.

“It’s very painful. I mean, extremely painful. In an unimaginable and unthinkable way,” Pastor Raphael Grant said.

Aries Jordan, who once came to pray, is accused of intentionally setting the church on fire.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Austell church leadership received threatening text messages days before fire, pastor says

The loss cuts deep, but church is not just a building.

“The fact that the church burned down does not mean the chu

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