Pastor Shane Vaughn recently told the congregants at First Harvest Ministries in Waveland, Mississippi that the COVID-19 pandemic would not end until Christians stopped wearing masks and placed their faith in God rather than vaccines.
While the pastor of what appears to be a small congregation, Vaughn has a far reaching online presence, making headlines last year when he posted a video discussing what might happen if Donald Trump did not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. That video earned him a fact check from USA Today.
First Harvest Ministries has an active YouTube channel, on which they post sermon and worship clips, as well as a recurring program called “Toto Tonight.” Vaughn refers to himself as “Professor Toto” in the videos, because he sees himself as pulling “back the curtain on all those liberal lies,” in the same way that the dog Toto revealed the true nature of the wizard in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”
In the most recent “Toto Tonight,” Vaughn, who makes reference to the fact that he is recovering from COVID-19 and is still short of breath, makes the claim that Hillary Clinton has more faith that Donald Trump will return to the presidency than most Christians do.
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Centering his discussion on a video clip wherein Clinton mulls the possibility of a 2024 Trump candidacy with an interviewer, Vaughn boldly predicts that Donald Trump will not only run in 2024 but win. Employing language similar to that used by preachers when they describe the second coming of Christ, Vaughn encourages his viewers to have faith that it will come to pass.
While the full video of Vaughn’s recent sermon is not available on First Harvest’s website or YouTube page, the church did post a brief clip from the message. In the one minute clip, Vaughn gives an impassioned plea to his congregation to not live in fear of the pandemic.
“If God chooses to take me by COVID, y’all better shout in front of my casket. I’ve gone home to be with the Lord. Get fear out of your heart,” Vaughn said. “I don’t care how I die, as long as I die in faith. Hebrews 11 said, ‘These all died in faith,’ not in fear. The power of faith says nothing is impossible. Do you have that kind of faith tonight?”
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“Until you get that faith, you’re not on the same page as God. And, therefore, COVID-19 is never leaving this earth,” Vaughn continued. “It is waiting on a church to come out of their isolation and to stand in faith and to declare, ‘Enough is enough!’”
