'We kept persevering:' Wichita church comes together after vandalism

It's been almost six months since a Wichita church was vandalized, and members say it was faith and determination that kept their doors open.

Gloryland Missionary Baptist Church, located at 1510 E. Central, was broken into back in November 2018. Pastor Dewitt Hayes says the last six months have been challenging to say the least but his faith never wavered.

"I didn't let it get me down. I trusted in God and he brought us through," Hayes said.

Vandals broke glass, destroyed bathrooms and even left a hole in the ceiling. After the break-in, Pastor Hayes made sure service would go on and it did.

"Now that day when I came in the church and seen it. It was devastating to me," Hayes said.

Cecil Hall, who is a deacon at the church, says he has been there every step of the rebuilding process. He says he was shocked at the damage but with faith, hard work, and help from the community, Gloryland is back on the right path.

"We kept going, we kept persevering and we haven't missed a Sunday. We kept persevering and we made it," Linda Hayes said. "We got knocked down for a minute but we got right back up with God's help."

After the break-in, the church took extra precautions like bars on the windows but they aren't meant to turn people away from services. Church members say they have been able to take what was mean't for bad and turn it into a lesson for good.