October 21, 2026
SHELBY, N.C. — After a fire destroyed their building early this past Sunday, Oct. 18, members of Dover Baptist Church are finding comfort in knowing that the church is more than just a place where they meet.
The fire broke out before the congregation was preparing to gather for worship. The blaze gutted the brick building at 1501 Polkville Road in Shelby, destroying its roof and some of its walls. Other walls remain standing, but the church asked people to stay away from the property because the walls that remain are unstable and hazardous.
No one was inside the church at the time, and no injuries were reported.
Pastor Jerry Reed said watching the building burn was painful for him and the congregation.
“It was hard to watch all of these memories be consumed,” Reed said in an interview with the Biblical Recorder. “Seeing the room where my wife taught Sunday School … and the closet where we stored all of our supplies for Operation Christmas Child. It was hard to see.”
The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the church shortly after 7 a.m. for a fire alarm activation, the department said in a Facebook post. When firefighters arrived, the incident was upgraded to a working structure fire.
Multiple Cleveland County fire departments responded. Shelby Fire & Rescue’s ladder company was requested, and the Cleveland County Tanker Task Force, Cleveland County EMS and the Cleveland County Fire Marshal’s Office also responded, according to the department. The fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause, and no foul play is suspected at this time.
While the fire was burning, the church posted on Facebook that Sunday services were canceled and asked for prayer. In a later post, the church thanked people for their prayers. “Our building is gone, but the church is not!” the post said.
Reed said churches across the community have since stepped in to help.
“We have had an overwhelming show of support,” Reed said. “Pastors from so many local congregations — not just Baptists, but Methodists, Presbyterians, nondenominational — have reached out for a space we can use and to offer any support they can give.
“It has been very humbling, very heartwarming to see the body of Christ offer up any help we need at this time. We have even had a funeral home offer up one of its chapels. Gardner-Webb University offered some of its buildings as well.”
Reed said some people are also drawing closer to the church. Deacons and elders have begun reaching out to members, since the congregation can’t see one another each week at the church.
“We would see everyone here each week, but that isn’t going to happen now, so we need to talk to people somehow, and the outreach has been very successful,” Reed said.
People with ties to the church, as well as others who learned of the fire, have also reached out, he said.
“One lady who was looking for a local church saw the fire, and we were able to connect with her,” Reed said. “If anything, more people are being drawn into their local body because of this.”
Dover Baptist was established in 1924 and reported 211 members in 2025, according to Baptist State Convention of North Carolina records. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Baptist Association.
Church leaders met Monday night, Oct. 19, to discuss next steps and to plan temporary worship arrangements. The congregation plans to meet in temporary locations while it discusses rebuilding. Reed said plans to rebuild are already being discussed.
“That is absolutely what everyone wants to do,” Reed said. “Obviously, things will look different, but everyone I have talked to is planning to rebuild.”
Reed said he hopes to use the moment to renew the church’s vision and trust God to lead the way. The congregation had been talking about where God was leading it before the fire, he said.
“A lot of times, when we are starting on a new endeavor, there are a lot of things about the past that we cling on to,” Reed said. “(Before the fire) we have been talking about where it is God is leading us. Now, at this point, we can’t lean on our past, and we are forced to do something new.
“We have the church, but we need to sit down and plan everything else anew. We are sort of starting a new church, but we already have the body of Christ and the relationships. We already have everything that matters.”
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This article appeared in the Biblical Recorder.
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