It’s been a tough week with three Athens churches being heavily damaged by fire, two in the same night.

Churches damaged in Athens Monday include Lake Athens Baptist Church and Grace Community Church. Last week, the Faith Church had their sanctuary destroyed.

It was earlier in January that Little Hope Baptist Church in Canton was destroyed, and another church fire in Martin’s Mill.

But, local ministers, including those whose congregations are directly effected, are taking things in stride, being thankful that no one was hurt, and praying for those who set the fires.

The Rev. John Green of Lake Travis Baptist Church, said his church sustained an estimated $500,000 in damages. Even with that amount, he felt blessed nothing else was damaged.

The Rev. Shane Barnes of Grace Community Church, another church whose interior was greatly destroyed by fire Monday, said he plans to have services on the church grounds Sunday.

“I got a call from the fire chief last night, and Debbie (wife) and I came up,” he said. “There were five or six fire trucks. The firefighters couldn’t do a whole lot to save it. It was a roller coaster of emotion. We were wondering how could someone do this. Through the anger and puzzlement, you want justice. But at the same time, vengeance is the Lord’s. We truly believe at Grace Community Church that it’s not a building, it’s people. We want God’s glory to be known through this.”