'There was just smoke everywhere': Church catches fire in southeast Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The community in Sterling is starting the long road to rebuilding after a fire torched St. John Lutheran Church.

Around 7 p.m. Friday, a neighbor near the church called 911 as smoke poured out of the building.

Mike Hestermann, a council member at the church, said he got there as quickly as he could.

“When I first got there, you could see heavy, heavy smoke,” Hestermann said. “It was coming out of the windows in the basement, the front doors, the back doors. At that point, there was just smoke everywhere.”

Firefighters worked for hours to put the flames out.

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“The basement of our church is pretty much gone,” Hestermann said. “The sanctuary had very little burn damage but extensive, extensive smoke damage and water damage.”

The church was built in 1930, and according to Hestermann, the state fire marshal suspects it was an electrical problem that sparked the fire in the basement.

There’s no estimate on the total amount of damage yet.

Jenna Pelchat is also a member of the church council.

She said it’s hard to walk in and see everything that’s been lost.

“Memories flash back in your head right away of all of the times you’ve been down there and what it used to look like,” Pelchat said. “Just sad with all of the history that’s in the church and rebuilding it will be different.”

But she said they will rebuild.

The church started a GoFundMe to raise money for the costly process ahead.

“You know, this happened for a reason, and I think that out of it, we will become better and stronger for it,” Pelchat said.

In the meantime, the congregation is meeting for regular services at the Sterling Community Center.

There’s no timeline yet on how long it will be before they can return to the church.

Hestermann said the council is grateful for the support from the community and all the fire departments that responded.

“Just makes you proud to be from a small town where stuff matters,” he said.

The community gathered at St. John on Sunday morning to ring the bell in remembrance of memories made at the church.