MOOSE LAKE, MN (November 23, 2015) – Fire destroyed the home of Covenant pastor Todd Van Zee’s family on Saturday night. No one was home at the time of the fire.

Todd and his wife, Jayne, were in the Twin Cities when the fire broke out, said Mark Stromberg, superintendent of the Northwest Conference. A neighbor youth cycling by the house, which sits on four acres of property, saw the smoke and called 911.

He then went home to tell his parents, and they returned to rescue the Van Zee’s dog from the garage and also were able to pull out the family’s fishing boat before the structure was overwhelmed with smoke.

The Van Zees have two children in college and another doing missions work in Haiti, Stromberg said.