Third South Jersey Church Burns Down

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Another southern New Jersey church was destroyed by flames Wednesday, NBC 10 reported.

The Agape Christian Church on Harrisonville Road was the third church to go up in flames in the area in less than a week.

It took 50 firefighters more than two hours to battle the flames, NBC 10's Lisa Kelly reported. The church had been abandoned for more than a year after the pastor's wife had died.

Church members said it was a historic landmark, and the first African-American church in the area. The building dated back to the 1800s.

A church member said she saw some kids near the church earlier in the day, Kelly reported.

Police and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were investigating the blaze.

The fire was just a few miles from a blaze that destroyed the Pitman United Methodist Church on Monday.

On Wednesday night, crews started to take down the steeple from the hollowed-out church, which had just celebrated its 118th birthday. Fire investigators said they believe that fire was caused by an electrical problem.

But investigators still haven't figured out what caused the fire in Atlantic City last Friday at the historic St. Augustine's Episcopal Church.

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