A car has smashed into a packed US church during a Sunday morning service, injuring six people and shattering a stained glass window.

The Reverend Jay Anderson said the wall "just exploded" when the vehicle crashed into the Crossroads United Methodist Church in Columbus.

"There were pieces of glass flying and then you saw the car come through," he added, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Image: The car was removed. Pic: The Columbus Dispatch

Marie Winnestaffer, who was sitting in a pew hit by the car, said "it felt like a bomb."

"I didn't see anything. I just went with the flow. It slid us across the aisle," she added.


Image: Witnesses said a 92-year-old woman was driving

Firefighters said the injured people were treated for cuts and other injuries.

Police did not identify the driver or say whether charges were planned, but congregants told the paper a 92-year-old woman was driving, although they declined to give her name.

The driver suffered minor injuries, NBC4i reported.

Image: The shattered stained glass window after the accident. Pic: The Columbus Dispatch

Pastor Anderson said the congregation of around 100 people were about 10 minutes into the service and singing a hymn when the car drove through the wall and went into the church, leaving a large hole in the side of the building.

Image: The building was boarded up afterwards. Pic: The Columbus Dispatch

The church was unusually crowded because there was a special Christmas choir performance which has now been rescheduled, he added.

Reverend Anderson reacted by leading worshippers in a prayer, both to calm them down and to pray for the injured, he said, before moving those who were not injured into the church's Fellowship Hall.

Image: A stained glass window was smashed. Pic: The Columbus Dispatch

"There's no manual for this," Anderson said.

Given recent attacks on US churches, Anderson said congregants were somewhat relieved it was an accident.

Marsha McClure said she was glad she was running late, or she might have been in the path of the car when it crashed into the building.

Image: The front of the church was boarded up. Pic: The Columbus Dispatch

"It was an explosion," she said. "They hit the sound system and the stained glass window blew out. It sounded like the cannon at the Blue Jackets games."

The church is still planning to hold its traditional 7pm Christmas service.