In 2014, at 4 am on a Sunday, the Pastor and Cindi awoke to an officer at the door. There had been a murder. And the victim had been laid in front of the cross of the church as he died.
For days, the police ran through reenactments behind the parsonage to discover what happened at the scene of the crime. A case of mistaken identity, the murder victim had held open the door for some men entering a gas station. That brief glimpse led those men – already violent criminals – to believe he was a rival. The victim, his best friend, and girlfriend left the station in their vehicle only to find themselves being chased by gunmen and trying to escape flying bullets.
The best friend driving the car heard the gunshot that caused his friend to slump forward. In that moment of panic, seeing his friend so full of life moments before now dying before his eyes, he knew suddenly to take him to the safest place he knew – the cross.
The other car now gone, he rounded the corner, pulled in front of the church, and opened the passenger door. The victim’s girlfriend cried out from the back seat as his friend gently carried him to the cross. He died there at the cross with his best friend and girlfriend beside him.
The next morning, our church parking lot stood empty – a crime scene now ribboned with police tape extending across both entrances to the church. There would be no services that day.
Some of our church friends living close by walked to the parsonage. They sat with us under the trees as we processed through the shock and with it a strong new awareness of what we faced in this community.
When they were allowed in, 15-20 young friends of the victim gathered at the cross to grieve for 3 days. We did our best to help comfort them with food, water, and prayer. Over the next few weeks, friends and family of this young man would come to the cross to mourn the loss.
Soon after, the young man’s family came to us with a request for a memorial to this innocent life.
Today, in front of the church, you will find a fountain that reads LIFE John 10:10 (I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly). The concrete benches around it remind us to “be still and know” that He is God. Christ did not come to right every wrong on earth. He came, so we could know a better way – to follow Him. In Him is peace, mercy, grace, forgiveness and hope.
Be ready for what God is about to do in your life. We are not promised tomorrow, but we can pour ourselves into the work of God and Christ through our care for His people as He brings them our way. We can join them in grief, comfort with prayer, teach them the Way, and stand strong in the face of evil. Stand with us.