A church in North Carolina is picking up the pieces after a half-tonne truck smashed into their building over the weekend. 

Although no one was injured, the church building sustained significant damage. 

Rev. Bienvenido Alegria, pastor of Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Hispana, lives right around the corner from the church. He heard the commotion and immediately ran outside to see what was happening. 

When he arrived, he saw that a box truck had slammed into the wall of their building, leaving a gaping hole. 

"I was impacted in my soul," he said. "I feel real, real sad. You go inside (and) you only see sad things," said Father Bienvenido Alegria to WSOC-TV

The crash sent pews flying and was strong enough to cause a second hole to open up on the opposite side of the church. 

Local police attended the scene and discovered that the driver had no insurance and a revoked license. 

When authorities told Rev. Alegria the news, he decided to forgive the man.  WSOC-TV says Rev. Alegria eventually reached out and told the man, "I love you."

A nearby church has since opened its doors to give the congregation a place to worship until their building has been repaired. 

The church has started up a GoFundMe to help with repairs. 

"We currently do not have a home church, and we need your help to us build a new temple where we can worship God!!!" said a member of the congregation. "May the Lord bless you greatly. We can not repay you for your generous donations, but we assure you that you will have your reward in Heaven."

The hope is to raise $550,000.