Just one week after CrossPointe Community Church avoided a potential mass shooting, the house of worship in Wayne, Michigan, reopened its doors to a standing-room-only crowd. Among the attendees on Sunday (June 29) were community members who came to support their fellow Christians.
As ChurchLeaders reported, a heavily armed gunman crashed into the Detroit-area church on June 22 and began firing. At the time, about 150 worshipers—including more children than usual—were inside for a special VBS service. After a CrossPointe deacon ran over the suspect with a vehicle, members of the church’s security team shot and killed the gunman. One team member was shot in the leg, but no one inside the church was injured.
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CrossPointe was closed for repairs and cleaning last week. On June 26, Jeric Thomas, pastor of Christian education and discipleship, posted a video thanking people for their prayers and support. He invited well-wishers to send correspondence for display in church hallways.
Thomas also welcomed locals to share the gift of their presence. “Just come and sit with us, stand with us, worship with us,” said Thomas. “Cry with us if tears are being shed, rejoice with us, any of those things.”
Pastor: CrossPointe Community Church Is ‘Forever Changed’
On June 29, CrossPointe’s pews were full, and some attendees had to stand outside the sanctuary. With law enforcement on the premises, they worshiped together and heard a message about forgiveness.
Lead Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. acknowledged that the congregation has been “forever changed” by the incident. “You were spared for [God’s] glory,” he said in his sermon. “This is only one instance in a long list of divine interventions that have occurred in your life, because the truth is, [God] has been saving your life since you were born.”
Kelly credited God for protecting people, saying it was a blessing the church wasn’t holding funerals for victims. “We don’t have a leg up on church security around the world,” said the pastor. “It’s all God. Media outlets want to talk about the nonmilitary personnel, church security, and others who prevented the enemy from entering the church, but the real hero is God.”
Kelly also urged attendees to forgive the alleged gunman, whose mother attends CrossPointe. According to investigators, the suspect was experiencing a mental health crisis and had previously claimed to be a prophet.
RELATED: Michigan Church Shooting Suspect Claimed To Be a Prophet, Pastor Says
Kelly’s message about forgiveness resonated with listeners. Forgiving will “be hard for some people to do, but [the suspect] was a child of God before he did that,” Jordan Stevens told a reporter. “If you profess to be one of Christ’s disciples, you’ve got to forgive.”
Another attendee, Jan Gill, said, “If Jesus can forgive me, I have no right not to forgive [the suspect], and he was a lost soul.” Last week’s heat wave might have prevented the church from holding its VBS service outdoors, Gill surmised. “Thank Jesus,” she said, “because that would’ve been a massacre.”
Peggy Clements, who’s been attending CrossPointe for 55 years, recounted the harrowing evacuation when gunfire erupted last Sunday. She expressed gratitude for the community’s support as the church reopened. “God is so present and so wonderful,” said Clements, 85. “The peace that he alone can give, people need to know God.”
