Following the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old student-athlete Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet, his pastor is taking steps to help the community heal. John McKinzie, pastor of Hope Fellowship East in Frisco, Texas, said the trauma extends beyond his church, which Metcalf’s family attends.
This incident is “bigger than just our church or our families,” McKinzie told CBS News Texas. Explaining why he accepted a counseling group’s offer to hold a grief workshop at the church, the pastor said, “It’s the whole community that is trying to make sense of this.”
As ChurchLeaders reported, Metcalf died of a stab wound to the heart on April 2, during an altercation with Karmelo Anthony, also 17. The case has sparked outrage as well as online misinformation and racially motivated threats. (Metcalf was white, and Anthony is Black.)
Texas Church Strives for Healing, Unity After Death of Austin Metcalf
On April 8, Hope Fellowship East offered a free “Navigating Trauma” seminar for “anyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy.” On social media, the church shared, “We acknowledge that this tragedy has repercussions that extend far and wide, and we pray for healing and reconciliation within our community.”
McKinzie ended worship on April 6 by reading from Psalm 34, about the Lord being close to the brokenhearted. “I just felt like it was important to help us focus in the right direction,” the pastor told a reporter. Saying that tragedy often pulls us away from God, the pastor emphasized that he wanted to remind congregants to “draw near to [God] in the Scripture.”
McKinzie also advised worshipers to “be careful what we’re posting” on social media, which he said can be “a thorn in the flesh.” If people feel the need to post anything, he advised, “Post Scripture—something positive to point us in the right direction, rather than divide us with things that we don’t really know the details of.”
Texas Pastor John McKinzie: Make the Most of Your God-Given Life
McKinzie has also been urging congregants to pray for everyone involved because “two families…are hurting.” He said, “To the core of my being and to the core of our church’s culture and mission, every person matters to God…and if they matter to God, they matter to me. They matter to us.”
When asked for a “takeaway” from the tragedy, McKinzie referenced James 4:14, about life being a vapor—“it’s here today, and it’s gone tomorrow.” The pastor advised people not to “waste time” but to “make the most of the life that we have.” Instead of focusing on challenges—whether financial, physical, relational, or mental—McKinzie recommended focusing on using what God has given us.
