Mural inside Englewood church remains untouched by days-long fire as flare-ups continue

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Fire department crews were back on site at Englewood's Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon as flare ups continued to pop up.

They had been there twice on Tuesday, and nearly every day since a construction-related fire consumed the historic church on Good Friday.

"I don't want to say dawn on me, but I'm beginning to really process, that's a better word, process the magnitude of the loss," said Pastor Gerald Dew.

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And yet, despite the ongoing flare ups, one thing remained nearly untouched: an inside mural portraying the resurrection of Christ. It is something Dew chooses to see as a sign of things to come.

"He promised he would return. And so, just as he is risen, and has ascended, we believe we will rise from this," Dew said.

But even as firefighters remained on scene nearly around the clock, structural engineers were there as well. There are important decisions that need to be made before any rebuilding plans can be made.

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"If we get the word that these walls that you see standing can be saved that would be an incredible blessing to us," Dew said.

Once the determination is made regarding the salvage-ability of the walls, then the attention will move to rebuilding the church itself, but that, ABC7 is told, will not happen without help from the community. Antioch Missionary Baptist will be launching effort a major fundraising effort later this week.