Burglar damages doors, cuts hole in ceiling at Xenia church
Oct. 17 incident captured on interior security cameras.
An unidentified manwho broke into the Lighthouse Baptist Church onWest Second Street damaged doors and part of the ceiling, causing water damage inside the sanctuary, accordingtoXenia police.
The Oct. 17 incident was caught on a security camera inside the church’s nursery.
Josh Bevan, founding pastor of the church, knew something was wrong Sundaymorningwhenhearrived at the churchandnoticed pry marks on some of the doors.
Someone had broken into the church through the back door and proceeded to search the sanctuary for anything to steal.
Bevan said days later they realized that the burglarwas captured on one of the church’s interior security cameras.
“Wehavehadthousandsof visitors come through these doors, but it was not anybody that I recognized on the video,” Bevan said. “We don’t keep stores of money here ... he effectively went through and did quite a bit of damage.”
The burglar pried open about a dozen doors and cut a four-foot hole in the ceiling, which led to water damage inside.
The church has since enhanced its security, incorporating an alarm system in case of another burglary.
Bevan said he’s not vengeful toward whoever did it, but hopes thatperson understands that it was wrong.
“One ofmy first thoughts was disappointment toward what the guy had done,” Bevan said, “but then I thought God could say there’s a lot of things that we do to disappoint him as well ... I would just like to see him repent and get right with God really over this situation.”
Bevan said he started the church about eight years ago with eight members. The “younger, blue-collar church” has grown, with up to 450people attending Sunday services, he said.