Walls of Crosspointe Church and Theatre 166 in Carrollton buckled after lightning strike

No one was injured, but the buildings were severely damaged.

Lightning strike causes severe damage to the church and theater. Click to enlarge to see the destroyed walls.

As severe storms whipped through North Texas last week, several homes, businesses, and structures were damaged by heavy winds and lightning strikes, including Crosspointe Church and Theatre 166 in Carrollton.

On Wednesday, June 6 a lightning bolt struck the plaza at 2425 Parker Road. The entire building is threatened with collapse because of the extensive damage. Theatre 166 was built by Crosspointe Church to provide a low-cost, high-quality venue for artisans of all disciplines to showcase and experiment with their works while promoting creativity as an essential component of a fully developed life, according to its website.

David Knight, administrator for Crosspointe Church and Theatre 166, said lightning stuck the center of the building, causing the roof to collapse and the sides of the building to buckle.

"Essentially what happened on [Wednesday night] around 5 p.m. was a lightning bolt struck Theatre 166 pretty much dead-center in the middle of the roof," he said. "If you can imagine taking a sledge hammer to the top of the roof, that's pretty much what it looks like inside -- it's all caved in. Everything is just kind of pushed straight into the center of the room. The sides of the building are bowed out, and there is brick scattered everywhere. It's pretty severe damage."

No one was in the building when the roof collapsed, Knight said, and the last employee left around 2 p.m. Knight said church and theatre officials are thankful no one was hurt and is hoping to salvage some of the equipment.

"We think some of the equipment is able to be saved -- it's a fully functioning theatre with lights, sound, music, and video," he said. "We are just waiting on the structural engineers to tell us when it's safe to go back in there and start removing stuff and doing any sort of cleanup in there."

The church was leasing the space from the strip mall owner and hopes to be able to resume business as usual as soon as possible. Knight said it is an emotional experience.

"We have insurance and we lease the space from the strip center owner, but you know, it's one of those things that the emotional piece is a little harder than anything else," he said. "We have been saying that over and over -- it's just stuff. There was nobody hurt, there is nothing in there -- except maybe some art -- that can't be replaced."

All the structural damage is contained to Theatre 166, however, there is some flooding in the rest of the building. Crews are working to remove the water and officials are hoping to have church services in the building as soon as possible. Knight said the community is already contacting staff offering assistance.

"We are so blessed to have so many people reach out to us already," he said. "We have had several phone calls and texts and social media requests of people wanted to help out. We are so blessed the community surrounding us is so generous and offering. We are dedicated to being in integral part of the community and really serving it as best as we possibly can. We are going to learn from this and move forward."

Right now, church officials are trying to assess damage and establish a plan of action. Residents are invited to contact the church to offer physical assistance -- cleaning and moving debris. The church is also taking donations.

"If someone wants to donate funds, they can go to the Crosspointe website where we have a link where they can donate in general," Knight said. "As far as actual physical labor, just check the Facebook page and our website for updates."