Loveland Missionary Baptist Church suffered smoke and water damage after a fire broke out Sunday evening, the Knoxville Fire Department said.
No one was inside the East Knoxville church at the time of the fire.
Crews responded to a call for help near 1320 Spring Hill Road at 7:42 p.m., per Knox County Dispatch.
DJ Corcoran of KFD said the fire started in the sanctuary. Crews had to cut holes in the roof to stop the flames and smoke from expanding.
Pastor Jonathan Grills said the church uses the original sanctuary for youth activities, including this coming week's Vacation Bible School.
Corcoran said investigators will now look into what caused the fire to start.
The last service of the day was Sunday morning.
This is a developing story. We will continue to update this article as we learn more information.