When asked what he’d share with people experiencing so much loss, Hopper said tragedy and bad news aren’t new because of the curse of sin, but “one day paradise lost is gonna be paradise regained.” The pastor added, “God has a plan to put the pieces all back together again, and it’s in the Lord Jesus Christ, the hope and salvation for all those who believe.” Hopper encouraged people to find the only true hope, in “the One that made us, created us, and sent the Son of God to die for us, to redeem us from the curse of sin.”
Hopper shared that “the body of Christ is mobilized on this island” and God is moving “in the middle of this crisis.” Before his family returns to Missouri, he said, they’ll participate in a relief effort with a local pastor he connected with in Maui.
Although his vacation turned “apocalyptic,” the pastor wrote on Facebook, “Crisis creates opportunity for the Gospel. Please pray with me for the residents of this island and that God will use this devastation to draw many to Himself.”
