Suspicious fire heavily damages former Harbor Light Christian Center in Grand Traverse County
A vacant Barnes Road church was badly burned before dawn, and deputies say the fire is suspicious as investigators weigh damage to a site already marked for redevelopment.
Fire heavily damaged the vacant former Harbor Light Christian Center at 4050 Barnes Road, leaving a prominent Garfield Township parcel charred and under investigation after emergency personnel responded at about 4:30 a.m. June 20. The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office has described the blaze as suspicious in nature, and investigators are asking the public for information.
The loss lands on a property that had already been in transition. Township planning documents showed the former church building was proposed for reuse as a medical office building in connection with a Copper Ridge PUD request, and commercial listing material put the parcel’s market price at $1,750,000. That same material described the building as 10,540 square feet, built in 1976 and renovated in 1985, with a total assessed value of $874,578.
For Barnes Road drivers and nearby neighbors, the fire turned a once-active congregation site into a major damage scene in a corridor that ties together Traverse City, Garfield Township and the broader Copper Ridge development area. The building stood at a visible suburban intersection where redevelopment pressure and long-vacant commercial properties have increasingly overlapped, making the blaze more than a one-off fire call.
Harbor Light Christian Center traces its roots to the fall of 1999, when Pastor Peter Moon was called to plant the church after coming to Traverse City with his wife, Sandy. The church’s staff listing identifies Peter Moon as pastor and Josh Moon as youth leader, and its contact page still lists Sunday Bible study at 9 a.m. and service at 10 a.m., underscoring that the Barnes Road site was once a regular worship location before becoming vacant.
What happens next will depend on the investigation and on how quickly the property can be secured and evaluated for reuse or demolition. With the building now heavily damaged, the future of the Barnes Road parcel has become even more uncertain, even as the sheriff’s office continues to seek tips that could explain how the fire started.
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