UPDATED: 5:49 pm CDT July 7, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It's the one place you expect to be safe, but one Nashville church was robbed during service.

 

"It was kind of scary to know all of our children were here, all of our wives were here," said Pastor Melvyn Warfield of Hillcrest Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Warfield stopped mid-baptism during a packed, midday service Saturday to spread another message.

 

"If you had anything open, if your windows were down, if your car was unlocked, somebody's out in the parking lot walking around," Warfield said he told the congregation.

 

From the pulpit, he could see two men stealing from the church's multi-purpose building.

 

"I think we baptized 12 that morning, and so I was actually standing in the water," Warfield said. "It's kind of bold to see individuals coming out and robbing you during worship."

 

Warfield saw the men using a wheelbarrow owned by the church to carry hundreds of dollars worth of the church's equipment, such as electrical equipment and DVDs.

 

"It's a warning for all of our churches that are here and servicing this community," said Warfield, who said the two men are already forgiven but that the church plans to prosecute if the men are found and arrested.

 

"We do want to redeem them and we do want this to be a life-changing experience for them, but they do have to kind of own up to what they have done," he said.