A North Carolina pastor helped to disarm a man who walked into a prayer service with a gun….and then led him to Christ.
A veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder walked into the New Year’s Eve prayer service at Heal the Land Outreach Ministries with a high-powered assault rifle in one hand and an ammunition clip in the other.
Pastor Larry Wright, who is a retired Army drill sergeant as well as a city councilor in Fayetteville, asked him ‘can I help you?'” Wright told WRAL-TV. “[The gunman’s] next words were ‘can you pray for me?’ Pastor Wright said he then knew everything was going to be all right.”
Wright took the man’s gun and patted him down to be certain there were no other weapons hidden on him. The man was invited to sit in the front pew, then approached Wright after the service.
Wright told the Fayettville Observer, the man then gave his life to Christ.
Police took the man to a local medical center at his request. He does not face any charges in connection with the incident.
On Sunday, the man returned to the church to apologize for the scare he had caused. He told WRAL that his wife had just been diagnosed with a debilitating illness and the couple is in dire financial straits. The man added that part of his struggles with PTSD come from an inability to afford his medication.
Congregants told the station they have made plans to baptize the man next Sunday, should he return.
Church member Lucrecia Hall said “I pray that he comes back and visits us,” “I’m not scared of him, not now.”