A massive fire destroyed a church outside the US city of Boston after it was apparently struck by lightning.

The shell of the wrecked building was seen ablaze in footage showing flames rising high into the sky.

Large chunks of the building fell to the ground, according to the Boston Globe, which saw crews fight the fire from “several angles”.

Firefighters first attended the scene at around 7pm local time before the blaze rose quickly up the church's steeple.

Wakefield Fire Chief Michael Sullivan told local media more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze.

Mr Sullivan told the Boston Globe a lightning strike is believed to have caused the fire, though it would be difficult to determine a definitive cause due to the extensive damage the building sustained.

He described the fire at the First Baptist Church building as a “total loss” and said a group was inside the church when the fire began, but they all made it out safely.