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Church Vandalized Days Before Easter: 'This Is Not Our Community'

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Vandals caused thousands of dollars in damage inside a church in Thornton, less than a week before Easter.

It happened Monday night at Destiny Outreach Ministries, near Huron Street and Thornton Parkway.

The pastor heard the church's alarm go off, but when he got here it was too late. He says he saw three teenage boys running away.

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Almost all the windows are smashed, the instruments are destroyed, and most of the furniture's damaged – this is what it looks like after hours of cleaning.

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They also trashed a back office and the church's kitchen, breaking furniture, smashing windows and damaging appliances.

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Parishioners and volunteers from the community have been cleaning since Monday evening, trying to salvage what's left of this church.

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Another room was left littered with chunks of shattered plates and doors that had been ripped off cabinets.

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It's not clear why the church was targeted.

Thornton Police spent hours collecting evidence, but they don't have any possible suspects or even a description to give out.

Being Christians, the husband and wife who co-pastor the church say they forgive the vandals, but they still need to pay for their crimes.

"Words can't describe how heartbreaking this is. You give your life to a community and you invest in the community's children and their people. This is not our community. This is not the City of Thornton," said Pastor Renee Coventry. "This is the act of a few individuals for whatever reason. We cannot even begin to understand the motives behind something like this. But this does not define our church this does not define the City of Thornton or our community."

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the church rebuild.

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The pastors tell CBS4 the community has been so helpful. A business has already offered to come clean their floors for free, but there's so much more work to be done.

The pastors have insurance, but they're still hoping people are willing to donate whatever they can to help them out.

Despite what happened - Easter service will still happen Sunday. Church officials say they'll sit on the floor if they have to.

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