Dallas Pastor Thinks Church Is Being Taunted By Thieves

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Are thieves taunting the faithful? A South Dallas church is burglarized and vandalized for the second time in less than a month.

The Bishop at Believers International Ministries thinks the criminals are sending a message, but he has one of his own.

The last time thieves hit the church they broke down a door, this time they knocked down a wall and gained entry through a hole from the outside.

Church leaders say it's not what they took that rattles them - but what they left. The thieves left behind most of the truly valuable items, and only took food and some drinks.

Bishop Veynell Warren said, "I think they're trying to run us out of the community."

Just hours before his Wednesday bible study, Bishop Warren unexpectedly changed his sermon. It was just after he discovered an evil had once again infiltrated the walls of his church.

"That's breathtaking. I've heard of something like this," the Bishop said. "But to actually see someone break through a wall and come through the bathroom and rip through the plumbing -- that's devastating."

Naturally, tearing a hole in the wall of the church left a huge mess.

Bishop Warren believes the criminals are the same ones who committed the previous crime at the place of worship, and are now trying to send a message that they can't be stopped.

"In the dirt… kick us when they think that we're down. Trying to hold us down, but we're going to rise."

Dallas police responded to the break-in and their investigation included dusting for fingerprints and taking pictures of the damage…but officials said they couldn't talk about the case Tuesday night.

Church member Lashundria Brown-Johnson had a message for the thieves. "You're not really hurting us. You're hurting the folks we're trying to help."

Bishop Warren says while it'll take thousands of dollars to repair what's been done he and his followers aren't going anywhere. "What I would say to them if they're watching, and I hope they're watching, [is] 'I'm praying for you.'"

During the last theft at Believers International Ministries the criminals even took the ketchup and mustard. This time they left it out on the table for everyone to see.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)