South Side Chicago church reopens triumphantly in new location after devastating fire last year
A Chicago church celebrated a new beginning in a new part of the city's South Side after its old location burned down on Thanksgiving Day last year.
Renewal Life Church opened its doors on Sunday on the third floor at 7411 S. Stony Island Ave. in the South Shore neighborhood.
On the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, firefighters spent hours trying to get the flames under control at the old Renewal Life Church at 5848 S. Emerald Ave. At one point, smoke from the burning church could be seen from more than a mile away.
Winds pushed the smoke into the surrounding area. More than 200 ComEd customers also lost power because of the fire, according to the utility.
Deaconess Donna Brown said renovations at the church were in the process of being completed at the time of the fire, and the church was set to host an event that Thanksgiving Day to feed people who were experiencing homelessness. But the event was moved and held at another church, leaving Renewal Life empty.
The fire rekindled the following morning.
"It doesn't look like anything is salvageable," Pastor Je'Rico Brown said at the time. "I told my church this morning, I was like, 'Hey, everything we have, everything that belongs to us is right here at 5848.' So we will be starting completely over from scratch."
Pastor Brown said in the wake of the fire, the church received donations and support from far and wide.
"We didn't even know we were reaching people in Michigan," he said. "Some people started sending things in the mail, and donating, and helping us around the country, and so that was really rewarding."
Now, the church is starting over from scratch with a powerful and triumphant new chapter about five miles away.
"A lot of our church members were like, 'All right, so, we need to find a new church?' And some people were discouraged — discouraged a few people," Pastor Brown said, "and so this is a sign that we can recover, and we just have to keep trust in God and keep building."
Renewal Life said it "remains committed to spiritual growth, community outreach, and renewal.
"After the fire, we still stand — stronger, united, and moving forward in faith," church officials said in a news release.
The church held its first Sunday worship services at the new Stony Island Avenue location beginning at 10 a.m., with another at 12:45 p.m.
A prayer and dinner service will then begin at 3:15 p.m.
