Gerald Dew News Today

A year after a fire destroyed the building on Good Friday, plans to rebuild have been finalized, but the church still needs at least $3 million to open debt-free in 2025.

The accidental fire at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Englewood happened shortly after Good Friday services ended.

The historic Englewood church "poses a potential danger to surrounding buildings and public safety."

The South Side neighborhood once had a bustling economy and much larger population. But despite challenges over the decades, local residents and organizations are working to make sure the community has what it needs to thrive.

While crews knock down Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the plans to rebuild on the same spot at Englewood and Stewart avenues, were announced Thursday morning. 

A fire that destroyed Englewood’s historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Good Friday somehow left intact a wall with a mural depicting Jesus’...

Building inspectors ordered the demolition of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church because the church, left structurally unsound after the fire, “poses a potential danger to surrounding buildings and public safety.”

Demolition crews will begin tearing down Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesday, days after a fire all but destroyed the historic Englewood church.

After a fire destroyed Englewood’s historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Good Friday, a wall depicting Jesus’ ascension was seemingly spared from the flames.

The image on a wall at historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church shows Jesus ascending to the heavens, flanked by two angels as his disciples look on.