Columbus United Baptist Church in Gahanna is gutted after a fire that church members say crew leaders believe was intentionally set.

Firefighters responded to the church at 6046 Taylor Road around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, and worked nearly two hours to put out the flames, 614Now reported. The building sustained significant fire, smoke and water damage.

The blaze came just hours after Pastor Jimmy Thompson and his wife, Beverly Thompson, discovered signs of a break-in at the church.

Beverly Thompson said the couple arrived at the building around noon Wednesday, Oct. 28, to meet with a water softener installer. They found water running down the front steps and a broken window in the lower-level dining area.

A garden hose had been turned on and left running against the front doors, according to 614Now. Water had flowed into parts of the building, including two restrooms and the furnace room.

Pastor Jimmy Thompson also found lights on throughout the church and pop cans on the floor, ABC 6 reported. The couple believes someone entered the building between Sunday and Wednesday.

Thompson checked the building, and the couple called police. A sheriff's deputy responded and filed a report, according to 614Now.

Then, shortly after midnight, the couple got a call from the Franklin County Fire/Sheriff Communication Center telling them the church was on fire. Beverly Thompson told ABC 6 she had to hear it twice because "it would not register what she was saying, because it couldn't be true."

Church members said fire crew leaders believe the fire was set. Investigators are working to determine where it started and whether accelerants were used, according to the reports. No official statement from investigators has confirmed a cause.

The Jefferson Township Fire Department and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office are both investigating.

"Heartbroken. Just brokenhearted," Pastor Jimmy Thompson told 10TV.

The church was built in 1974.

Memorial plaques honoring longtime members who had died were among the losses. "There were plaques on the wall that honored all of the longtime members after they passed … those are lost," he told 10TV.

The congregation of about 20 members now faces a long rebuilding process. Beverly Thompson said the damage could keep them out of the building for as long as a year.

Still, members say they plan to stay together and rebuild on the same site. A nearby church has offered the congregation space to worship while they rebuild, according to 10TV.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.