Before the fire at the old Family Fun Center, the church had planned to organize Christmas Eve services in a renovated space

Here is an update of Coastal News on the church that had planned to occupy the former Family Fun Center in Edmonds, which caught fire on December 8.

In 2014, Bethany Community Church North established a congregation in Shoreline. They bought a building on Aurora Avenue, which previously housed a strip club, and completely remodeled it into a bright and airy space. They called it The Junction and rented the frontage at a cafe. They reserved the back of the building for the church offices.

They held services at nearby Shorewood High School and later at the Shoreline Auditorium, building their congregation.

In recent years, they’ve located and purchased a building in Edmonds, the former Family Fun Center near Hwy 99 at 220th Street Southwest, and completely renovated it. It was completed this month.

Senior Pastor Scott Sund said they need to hold Christmas Eve services in their new building.

A passerby called 911 at 1:55 a.m. on December 8 to report black smoke and flames coming from the building. Eventually, 50 firefighters were reportedly on the scene with Shoreline Fire assisting South County Fire.

Due to the excessive heat and the limited visibility of thick smoke inside the structure, crews first had to attack from the outside to bring down most of the fire. It took the firefighters about 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

The building, according to Pastor Sund, has been “made completely useless.” He is grateful that no one was hurt.

The cause of the fire was accidental, according to South County Fire. Sund said it was an electrical fire.

Bethany North will have Christmas Eve and weekly services at Shoreline Auditorium until another space opens.