Action News obtained video of flames shooting out of the roof of Mother African Union Church on the 800 block of North Franklin Street.
More than a hundred firefighters responded to the scene around 3 a.m. Sunday as the fire quickly reached two alarms.
Witnesses say they head a loud boom before the fire started.
Two associate pastors spoke with Action News at the scene.
"My son was on his way to work, and he noticed that there was something going on with respect to smoke and flames. So we came out right away, and saw the flames just engulf the building," says Rev. Ruben Mcelrath.
"Just to see the building gone, just rips me, but we're going to rebuild. Whether it's here or somewhere else, we're going to rebuild and do even bigger and better, but just looking at that history," says Rev. Dolores Lee.
They say they are devastated watching history go up in flames.
No injuries have been reported, and investigators are now working to determine what sparked the fire.